


excruXiation

by trickssi



Series: Rodeo Ring Cycle [2]
Category: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Humor, Justification for this game in general, Multi, Romance, cruxiscrystalwerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-13
Updated: 2012-10-13
Packaged: 2018-01-08 13:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 105,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trickssi/pseuds/trickssi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coming to terms with oneself is not an easy task, especially with distractions like the Ratatosk upheaval, relationship problems, and friends going berserk. In order to move forward, Zelos has to destroy an integral part of his past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Yggdrasill

**Author's Note:**

> This work has been duplicated from fanfiction.net.  
> Warnings: Major spoilers for ToS, the Japanese radio drama Rodeo Ride Tour, and Tos: DotNW.  
> Disclaimer: I own neither the characters not their scripted antics in Symphonia, Rodeo Ride Tour, and Dawn of the New World.

Once upon a time—not too long ago that nobody would live to remember it, but not too recent that anyone still cared about the mishap—a dwarf by the name of Altessa was found in his home and held at knife-point by Cruxis angels until he agreed to aid them in an experiment. Looking back, he had been lucky  _only_  to have been threatened with a knife, for the power of Cruxis could have easily rendered him a soulless husk. However, it would have been against their interest to disable their new engineer.

Cruxis entrusted Altessa with plans to create a non-human vessel for Martel. The last three Chosens of Sylvarant had gotten sliced to bits after only one test of their might, and it was putting Tethe'alla far too much in mana's favor. The solution was to use the new magitechnology being studied in the Greater half of the world to create a doll: a flawless, exact vessel for Martel's essence without the wait of sixteen years to make it. It would require only a little extra research, but the time wasted therein was exponentially less than the time it had been taking for these worthless human Chosens. And Mithos Yggdrasill was getting tired.

First, Altessa had to build the robotic structure of the girl. He forged a bargain with the workers of Ozette in order to get his material cheaply. Next, they took genetic remnants from existing lineages of the Chosen, picked out the perfect strands, and smashed them all together in an injection for the robot. Lastly, they attached an object that Altessa would learn was a Cruxis Crystal, which gave her life. Quick, thoughtless, painless—the objective in mind for this entire project, in his eyes. Little did Altessa realize that he had been working at it not for weeks, not for months, but for years before its completion.

The doll was only functioning for a few moments before she was charged with mana from the Great Tree. A few moments more would proclaim her a failure, as the body wouldn't take the form of Martel nor would it properly animate. No one, human, elf, nor half-elf, could figure out what was wrong, and so the project was starkly abandoned. Still, Altessa began to feel a great weight in his heart as he saw his life's work tossed aside. That doll, inhuman as she may have been, was still being used as a pawn in Cruxis's scheme and he had been responsible for her entire existence.

When Cruxis exiled Altessa to a cavern north of Ozette, they did not know the dysfunctional doll had been taken with him. Of course—there had been more pressing matters at the time of the failure that allowed his sneaking her body into his Iron Maiden. Altessa brought her into the house one evening and propped her in his work chair, awaiting Cruxis's next project because it could bring the resources to fix her. He began to call her Tabatha, which meant "she who is resurrected" in Ancient Kharlani.

Eventually, Cruxis realized that they needed a dwarf to refine and experiment with Cruxis Crystals. That was the break Altessa had been looking for. He didn't quite understand the theory, but he replaced the doll's old crystal with one of the refined ones one day.

Suddenly, the doll whose visage haunted his shortcomings sparked to life.

"Wh...y… am… I…?" she spoke with broken bursts of sound.

Altessa replied, "You were injured badly after you were born. You are now safe in the hands of Altessa the Dwarf." He paused for a moment before deciding to say, "Your name is Tabatha, and you were being very poorly treated. But there is no longer a reason to fear."

"Tab…ath…a," she repeated. "Ma…rte…l…"

But there would be no more talk of that. Altessa, by ignoring the cry for Martel, banished the name from his household and prayed that Tabatha would not ever dwell upon it again; for, if she did, she might discover that her existence had no point but to become a pawn the Cruxis organization in their terroristic reign. Tabatha would see decades without suspecting that her purpose had been more than to serve her Master father Altessa.

However, that was a different story, relying upon the fact that she remained isolated and unaware of the world outside of her home. That is a story for a world with ignorance and fear.

Zelos Wilder couldn't care less about how Tabatha felt a connection with Martel. All he knew—or rather, believed—was that the tale of Tabatha ended with one contradicting, quashing twist: Instead of separating from her Cruxis Crystal, Tabatha kept it until she merged with the soul of Martel, thereby submitting herself to its influence and admitting her body, her selfhood, was just a husk after all. What kind of lesson would that have taught him, if had he been a younger Chosen in a declining world?

Now he squinted to see whether or not the resulting Summon Spirit carried the jewel with her. He couldn't tell in the blinding sunlight that seemed to follow his group whenever something remotely good happened. Normally, he wouldn't have cared about what a Summon Spirit looked like, but there was some hope that in front of his eyes was another being who had known the trials he had gone through—wait, trials? How did he even start thinking about that?

Back to the "good," where all eight of them were bearing witness to the naming of the New World Tree. Lloyd proclaimed it to be "Yggdrasill," honoring their fallen "friend" and his sister Martel's contribution of mana to the tree itself. Perhaps he hoped that during their final battle, everyone had realized that Mithos was simply "misguided" and a "fallen hero."

There were only three beings left in existence that would have seen that for the bottom-line bullshit it truly was, and the only one present at the time was Zelos. Mithos Yggdrasill may have been misguided, but it was of his own conscious doing, his own decisions. And he sure as hell did not deserve honor for having blackmailed, manipulated, and slaughtered his way to angelhood. Especially not when it involved personal lives; Kratos and Lloyd, Yuan, Seles—expanding even now to the lives lost in cities like Palmacosta.

Zelos had quite a laundry list of personal grievances against Yggdrasill and his followers, perhaps amplified by the fact that he was once one of them. And every time he looked at Martel, he could see just that hint of metallic skeleton, that vestige of broken dreams shining through…

"— _Hey_ ," Sheena whispered sidelong to him. Drawn toward her voice, Zelos glanced to see the woman looking slightly irritated. " _Pay attention!"_

Fortunately, he resumed listening to Martel's words at a valuable time. She began in a calm voice, "I ask in the name of all that consists this New World that the name of this Tree hereafter never be spoken to those who did not bear witness to its birth. Out of knowledge that its name frightened and oppressed many during its owner's reign, we must keep it a secret until every soul that remembers it, excepting my guardian, has perished. May neither demons, devils, scoundrels, nor those with ill in their hearts tamper with this oath. You must swear to me your devotion in this to complete the seal."

"Lloyd Irving swears it on his life," Lloyd spoke almost immediately. Then, Colette beside him said, "Colette Brunel swears it on her life."

"Genis Sage swears it on his life." "Sheena Fujibayashi," "Regal Bryant," "Presea Combatir," "Raine Sage"; all shared their devotion to this promise.

Zelos paused before accepting that he, too, must join them in their sealing of the Tree, lest another force like Cruxis gain control and manipulate someone else's life as it manipulated his. "I, Zelos Wilder, swear it on my life never to speak the name of this Tree."


	2. Paranoia Paranoia

" _Can We Still Choose the Chosen?_

_Friedrich Callon of the New World Times_

_A small street in Meltokio fills with hordes of screaming, young girls. They're launching themselves at the battlements of the House of Wilder, home of the Chosen of Tethe'alla, Zelos Wilder. While this may seem like a shock to those unfamiliar with the city, women's enthusiasm for the Chosen has long been a Meltokio tradition. However, on this particular occasion, the reason they're causing a riot is quite different._

_These girls are furious—and no, it's not over his new wardrobe. In the past two years since the Union of the two worlds, Wilder has taken only small steps to improve life for Tethe'allans. These so-called measures include signing a law regarding size of lawn ornaments of the residents of Flanoir, creating more categories for Meltokio's Coliseum, and on top of that, completely ignoring the Papacy's requests for funding which causes the government to turn to the nobles' sums. But more aggravating is his daily absence from the court._

" _If you're going to force us under the power of the Chosen, at least make him show his face once in a while," citizen of Lower East Meltokio and regular night guard Seth Grunewald complains as he tries to hold back the crowd._

_However, the reason for immediate anger draws from the recent arrival of his half-sister, Seles. Seles Wilder's mother, Celestine Valz, was the cause of controversy approximately two decades ago when she was charged with the murder of Wilder's mother, Mylene, as well as the attempted murder of the Chosen himself. Not only was she in contempt of the position of Chosen, but she was also a half-elf turned to violence. We can only speculate as to her justification for such a vile act. While Celestine was executed, Seles was also punished by being confined to life in an abbey without prolonged leave of absence._

_You may be wondering, 'Then how, oh knowledgeable scribe, did she suddenly come to reside in the House of Wilder?' The answer lies in the collapse of the Tethe'allan government after the Union. Somehow, the laws about convicts were "destroyed" and word escaped that the Chosen had pardoned dozens of them, including his own half-sister. Since the crime she pays for involves solely the Chosen's life, the King must have allowed this to go unnoticed for so long._

_But no longer! Day after day, women—and more recently men—have come to disturb the residence in hopes of spotting the secretive Seles. Some of them come armed with knives and pitchforks in hopes that they will be able to bring the dishonorable desian-born to justice._

_How does the Chosen feel about the ruckus? Obviously, he cares enough to pay for royal guards to surround his residence day after day in hopes of protecting Seles. However, no reporter has been able to spot him. Suspicious? Absolutely, especially considering his recent prolonged absence. (For those of you who don't recall, the Chosen took a private "tour" of the world that lasted upwards of three months just last year.)_

_As he has not been present to disavow speculation, rumors have begun to fly about the Chosen's current situation. Has he begun to run out of money and started dealing Exspheres? This is a possibility due to his closeness to Sir Lloyd Irving, who is currently questing to find them all and "destroy" them. The influence of half-elves during the Sylvaranti Chosen's journey may have affected the judgment of our very own leader._

_Is it possible that the Chosen is conducting international affairs behind the Papacy's back? Or, is it, perhaps, something as embarrassing as eloping with a country girl?_

" _Last week, I saw the Chosen taking a walk with that [hideous] [floozy], Fujibayashi," claims the Count's daughter, Elena Smithton. "I can't believe he would sink that low! I mean, he should be seeking the attention of girls of the same class. And if he ever marries that [disreputable woman], we will hunt him down!"_

_Smithton refers to the fact that Ms. Sheena Fujibayashi, of the Journey of Regeneration and the Emissary to the King, is not a noble-born and resides in the hidden village of Mizuho._

_Britannia Addams, second-cousin to the Princess Hilda, remarks also, "Lately, it seems like he's not interested in us anymore. How much longer are we supposed to keep praising him if he can't even show the courtesy to flirt with us? It's, like, so annoying!"_

_Whether or not the Chosen is involved in the former acts is still up in the air. But one thing is for certain: his popularity level has skyrocketed downward in the past year, and it is doubted that he will ever regain his reputation_."

Zelos flopped down the newspaper on the edge of his dining table and gave a weighty sigh. "Can you believe the bull-crap they're rambling on about these days?" he asked.

"Absolutely not, Master Zelos," Sebastian replied from the kitchen doorway. He was shining up one of the gold-bordered champagne glasses Zelos had used a few days ago.

"I mean, be honest with me, man. It's obvious that I'm not in hiding. I just can't go outside because all of those ridiculous people trying to get in. And besides," he mused, picking up a piece of toast, "the King's the one who sent those guards, not me."

"Certainly, it seems that the press has nefarious intentions for your name if they would go to such lengths to obfuscate the truth."

"Well, they got Elena and Britannia down just right. That's the thing—they write so correctly about one thing, and then boom! Suddenly I'm an Exsphere dealer! I'm helping convicts! And don't even get me started on what they said about Seles…"

Zelos stuffed a few bits of the toast into his mouth and tried to appreciate the flavor—that is, toast made from not-moldy, not-stale bread: Not-Travel Toast. Although, it was sort of hard to stomach anything this morning. He'd been up most of the night trying to draft another proposal for the fair treatments of half-elves and the re-establishment of the city of Exire, and at every moment his thoughts wandered to Seles's condition. Either that, or he thought about why Cruxis had been developed, or how he hated that he seemed like a hypocrite, or how he wished that Sheena hadn't been so willing to break up with him again.

"Sir, you cannot expect them to know about Seles if you don't inform them yourself," Sebastian advised. He set the shining glass back inside its display cabinet.

"I know." Zelos brushed some crumbs from his vest. "I…  _know_ , but there's no telling these people anything. I'd say the walls have ears, but clearly they don't. Otherwise, people would already know about her breathing problem," he said.

In all solemnity, he had developed a concern over Seles's health that overrode any care he had for his own life. The girl could die any day, as far as he knew. The Exsphere—and for a portion of Seles's life, his own Cruxis Crystal—used to keep her in a decent enough condition to fight off diseases that would harm her. But recently, the government recalled Exspheres because of their origin in human ranches. It would have been too risky to let the half-sister of the Chosen keep hers when so many others had to surrender theirs. Plus, it would have been against Lloyd's plan of obtaining all rogue Exspheres. The only catch was that Seles's health was beginning to decline rather rapidly. Zelos supposed that the government, like so many other times, had not thought of the consequences of what it was doing by revoking what was essentially life support. There had to be something he could do; maybe work in a new treatise? Commission the Elemental Lab and waste millions of gald researching Seles to cure her? He just needed more time.

"If only she hadn't given up her Exsphere so early. I feel like they woulda let me prolong those laws…"

Sebastian, seeing that all-too-familiar look of thinking on the Chosen's face, quickly interjected, "Master Zelos, why don't you write a letter to Miss Fujibayashi? Perhaps her teachings have given her experience in alternative treatments."

"Ahhhh, Sebs, y' old bastard, you're  _killing_  me. I know you're just trying to help, but I don't need to be thinking about her right now," Zelos sighed. Under his breath, he continued, " _Last_  thing I need is to be thinking about her."

"Do I sense some regret in your tone, perhaps?"

Zelos sat straight up from his slumped position in the chair and glared at his butler. "Listen. We both know why it happened the way it did. Let's just let bygones be bygones. It was… probably supposed to happen, anyway."

The silence that followed was thick and cautious. Sebastian decided that he ought to distract himself by cleaning up the remnants of Zelos's breakfast. As he leaned to retrieve the plate (which, he noted, still had a fair amount of untouched scrambled egg on it), he paused before picking up the newspaper as well.

"Master Zelos, do you wish for me to keep this one with the others on file?"

"Sure. Why not? It adds to the collection. In fact, you could frame it and put it in the foyer, and then throw a party for all of my fans where they could throw a dart at it for ten gald," he responded. When Sebastian's face contorted in a confused but compliant manner, Zelos interjected, "It's a joke—please don't actually do that. Man, haven't you learned not to take me seriously?"

He expected more of an understanding reaction, but Sebastian turned to him and said gravely, "I have learned over the years that doing the exact opposite is the more prudent decision."

Well, okay, sometimes that applied, Zelos figured. "I understand that it's in your best interest to indulge me, but really.  _Darts_ , Sebby? Ahh, come on, I'm not going  _that_  crazy. Unless you actually thought—"

"No, no, sir! All in jest. We need more smiles in the House of Wilder," Sebastian concluded. He offered a smile of his own to Zelos before heading to the kitchen's double doors. "I'll see to it that this article is documented."

"Thanks," Zelos said before Sebastian was out of sight.

He meant it, too; Sebastian had been helping more and more lately in ways that did not match the job description. It began when the magitechnologically powered screen systems were shut down and gutted of Exspheres. Many residents of Tethe'alla languished without the ease of their machinated lives. However, Sebastian, who had never been one in favor of such screens, was able to continue his work without a transition back to paper. It was much to his joy when Sylvarant innovated a primitive printing press based on the old screens' function.

Not only did Sebastian notice the fortune in this new invention through its accessibility, but he also knew that it would be the best way to gather information from around the world in a relatively quick amount of time. Any knowledge of activity would better protect the Chosen. Since the first editions of the  _New World Times_  and several other Sylvaranti publications, Sebastian had begun to collect every issue on the chance that it could help him. And if not, the crossword was entertaining enough.

Although the prospect of prose on paper seemed trifling to a domain as prosperous as Tethe'alla, the newspaper system began to slowly unite Sylvarant. The King remained ignorant of this, however. Certainly, it _would_  have been his prerogative to find out; and one day he sent a request to the Chosen to correspond with the Emissary over the presses. Well, regardless of the fact that Zelos took this in a more casual fashion (where "correspond with" meant something of a slightly devious nature, and at the time he and Sheena were on good terms), Sebastian took it upon himself to collect the papers and selectively inform the King. This way, neither Zelos would have to worry himself with the articles nor would the King know of details that would harm Zelos's life.

It seemed clear, though, that the Sylvaranti people were growing impatient and angry with their state of being and that they needed a whipping boy. Sebastian read articles of how the crops in the Izoold region failed to take root in the spring; how Triet's temperatures were decreasing low enough to wipe out much of the flora and fauna; how Altamira became a pesky intersection where nationalist racism halted trade temporarily. In true fashion of a declining world, they pointed fingers at Colette Brunel, their own Chosen of Mana.

In fact, a legion of dissatisfied people calling themselves at first the Sylvaranti Liberation Front (and later the Vanguard) began to publish their own columns in the  _New World Times_. They singled out regional leaders, the most notable of which was the ever increasingly-popular widowed father, Brute Lualdi. It was Sebastian's duty, of course, to inform the King that the Sylvaranti Liberation Front was taking hold and trying to justify terroristic attacks by revenge.

However, the King was just a figurehead, just a pretty bead on the necklace of information. The true names, dates, and places were wired through the Tethe'alla Mizuho Information Network on the recommendation of Sebastian, after he'd read all of the articles with serious attention.

Zelos was fortunate to have such a dedicated caretaker, especially in the recent times. So many people from both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla wanted him dead. On at least three separate occasions in the past month, there had been projectiles aimed in the direction of his window as well as Seles's. The article in the  _Times_  didn't even begin to describe the restless, bloodthirsty crowds that haunted the streets of Meltokio in recent days.

But what was he supposed to do? There were ways he could hide, ways he could stay on the lam, but he'd tried them all and ended up being targeted anyway. Eventually, he thought, they would find someone else to be mad at and leave him the hell alone.

For now, Zelos dragged himself about his boring daily routine. Up the servants' stairs and to the third door on the right was Seles's room, and he thought it wise to pay her a visit considering the headlines.

"Seles?" he called, though the door was slightly ajar.

"Come in," she replied faintly. It bothered him how airy her voice sounded these days. Nevertheless, he entered and left the door still half-open behind him—a gesture which saddened him, for it meant that the house potentially could come under attack and they would need to hear how far away intruders were.

"Well, Big Brother? Don't just stand there; you'll remind me of Tokunaga. Sit down or something!"

"Geez, for someone claiming to be sick, you're still as bossy as ever," Zelos retorted. He sat on the edge of the bed as she sat up against the headboard.

"I was never  _bossy_."

"Okay, well, if you don't want me around—"

"Zelos, stay," Seles said. "You don't look well."

"That's a fine thing for you to be saying. Although, maybe I do feel a little less beautiful than normal," he said, accenting the sarcasm. Seles cracked a smile. If there was one thing she could count on, it was that her brother was going to be a goofball. She'd managed to get over the way he spoke of himself, as it was clearly his defense reflex and mostly a joke. Zelos did, however, look a little more tense than usual. "I suppose I'm a little harried at what I found in the paper this morning."

Seles's features turned grim. "Another terrorist attack?" she asked. It was possible that an attack could have injured one of Zelos's friends, or worse.

"Well, you could say that. Or, you could look outside and see for yourself. They're still there. And not only that, but they wrote an article about us. It's under the guise of Chosen nonsense, but it's really about how they're mad that you're here," Zelos summarized.

Seles sighed deeply. "I kept hoping those sounds were just riots at the castle, but I suppose I shouldn't close my eyes to these facts anymore."

"I just—I can't believe how much they misunderstand, you know?" Zelos stared at the ornate wallpaper behind the dresser and made a mental note to have Tokunaga check it for mold. "They don't know how bad it's gotten."

"It hasn't gotten that bad," Seles said, frowning. "Besides, it's better that I'm here than at the Abbey. We needed to make those renovations sometime and I'd rather be under your guard—I mean, I'd rather have this household take care of me…"

Zelos grinned. "What's that, my dear sister? You  _like_  that I'm taking care of you?"

"Stop teasing me, that's not fair!"

"' _Stop teasing me!_ ' Not now that I can call you out on your game!" Zelos mocked. "Ya know, you used to be so sensitive about…"

"Zelos!" Seles shouted. She threw a nearby pillow at his head, which caused him to mutter something along the lines of, "Not the face—!" before being thwacked squarely in the jaw.

"And you know what?" she added, victorious. "You  _like_  taking care of me." She emphasized her point by taking the pillow from under her back and clocking him again. "You  _need_  to take care of me! You're such a needy person, Zo-Zo!" Zelos made a grand display of being wounded from the pillows and played dead over the edge of the bed. He figured he might as well, since it was rare to see her so jovial about anything.

But Seles wasn't finished. As long as she had him vulnerable, she figured she might as well see how much information she could get out of him. She  _was_  bedridden, after all.

"You need someone to take care of since that hag dumped you when—"

Immediately, Zelos sprang back to life and threw the pillows off himself. Because he still had the strength of the Exsphere, they slammed into the wall and startled his sister with the sound. The shadows crept along his face as he stood above the bed, and his playful tone dropped to menacing.

"Don't you  _dare_ … don't you  _ever_  call her that again. Do you hear me?" he said.

Trying to keep herself composed, Seles replied coolly, "Yes, Big Brother, I understand. I was just joking."

Meanwhile, a thunder of footsteps resounded from the hallway. The door swung open to reveal an expectant Tokunaga. Seles made a small gasp and began to cough herself into a fit.

"Yo, you got news or something? Kind of in the middle of something important," he barked over her coughs. He turned to his sister. "Are you okay?"

Seles struggled to sit up straight, but nodded to him. Shortly thereafter, the coughs subsided. Zelos stood up from a crouch near her—it bothered him that he didn't remember getting into that position.

"Master Zelos, I was informed that there was a rumpus upstairs. It is my duty to protect the Lady Seles," the servant replied. After the initial panic, he observed the room. Zelos hoped the man wouldn't notice the pillows that had been thrown across the room, but that was a given since Seles's room was normally well-kept. He winced as Tokunaga paused to say, "What  _are_  those pillows doing on the other side of the room?"

"Tokunaga, please," Seles began weakly, "don't worry. Zelos and I were just playing around."

"Certainly, my Lady Seles. However, Chosen One, as this moment has demonstrated, you may not be fully accommodating to Seles's condition. I understand your penchant for flippancy, but I advise you to take your  _laissez-faire_  attitude more literally. Please do not roughhouse the Lady Seles." There was a polite sneer forming on Tokunaga's lips as he chastised Zelos.

Nothing much to do, Zelos knew. There would always be a push-pull atmosphere when it came to Seles's being in the house. Give her attention, leave her alone to rest. Do as you wish, do as your father indicated that he wished for you. Man, aristocracy was difficult. Still, he replied, "Gotcha. Sorry. Won't happen again." Terse, curt; but with that civil air behind it.

"All the same, I would ask you to leave."

"What? But it's only 9:30, and I'm allowed to visit until ten!" he protested.

"Yes, until the Lady fell ill. Please leave her in peace."

Seles locked eyes with Zelos, sending the message that she was not ill enough to be left alone and that she thought Tokunaga was being harsh.

"—Fine, fine. I'll go for now, but I'm coming back later with that article," he said, directing his last words at the patient girl in the bed. "Seles—I—Feel better, okay?"

Zelos turned for the door without looking back, for he was unsure of what Seles's reaction would be. He could hear Tokunaga closing the door a little after he left.

He never did return to her room with that article.

Instead, Zelos ordered that Sebastian obtain another copy, upon which he doodled a single word to Seles in plain black ink: " _Sorry_." Took him a good hour to figure out exactly what he wanted to write, too. He sighed. To fill up some more time during the boring morning hours, he filled in the Suu-Dou-Kuu math puzzle on her copy as well, if only since he knew she loved them and he wanted to make her laugh in frustration.

Later that afternoon, as he sat on the couch and cast a fireball into the hearth for comfort, he thought of the stark idiocy of his correspondence. Of  _course_  he had to write only one word—that was becoming his style, wasn't it? He remembered when he was on his little adventure with Sheena. They had come to the end of their journey, and all he did was complain about finding paper. He meant to write her a long letter, of course, full of metaphors and compliments and his particular brand of upper-class lust. It ended up just being a single word, which he had delivered to her after their parting.

" _Thanks_."

He was certain Sheena would twist her eyebrows in knots as she thought about what that meant. But to be honest, he wasn't sure what it meant, either. It seemed like the most appropriate response for her companionship as he evaded danger. Thanks for coming with me in the first place. Thanks for spending time with me while we were both on this world. For choosing me…

In the moments before he fell into a feline nap, Zelos wondered if Sheena would ever be able to choose him again. Funny, wasn't it; ironic that the newspapers could say something so wrong on the surface, but so very on target for the thoughts he dreaded to think.


	3. By a Moment

Zelos's weary dreams played out in his mind like a sugar cube dissolving in tea. They were memories of a watered-down color, memories that left nothing but leaves at the bottom after you drank your share.

He traveled from Meltokio, which had just held their first Union celebration, to Mizuho. It wasn't a long journey—only half a morning, if that. By that point, all magitechnology had been shut down, so he had to walk a good three miles out of the city before using his wings in lieu of a Rheaird.

By the time he found the hidden village, his heart was beating in exhilarating anticipation. This visit would mark the first time he would see Sheena for seven months. Well, officially in terms of actually seeing her, because he had heard she was present at the celebrations the previous night, but hadn't gotten the chance to find her.

At the gates, he was swarmed by a few admirers he'd flirted with back on the journey to Regeneration. Although it was aggravating that  _here_  of all places he still ran into such problems, the noise seemed to attract the Chief, which was exactly his motive. Sheena finally appeared in a huff to pry the supposedly virtuous girls of her village from the every limb of the Chosen.

"What brings  _you_  here?" she asked. She seemed a little accusatory, even for his memories.

"What brings  _me_? What brought  _you_  to Meltokio without visiting me?" (He may have added a "hunny.")

"Wha—? I have a job and a duty to my people and to the King!" she said firmly. " _You_ , on the other hand… What  _are_  you doing here?"

He played coy, putting a hand in his pocket and looking past her into the distance. This was a game in which he excelled. "Hm, you're no fun… Well, I—Actually, I just came to say hello, since you wouldn't do me the favor last night. Gotta keep good ties, y'know?"

Sheena smirked from one corner of her mouth. "Good ties?" She had this ability to bore her eyes right through him sometimes. Perhaps it was a little obvious that he was holding back.

"… And maybe I need some advice."

"Advice?" she inquired. Casually, she glanced to make sure the girls were out of earshot. "Well, what kind of advice are we talking?"

For a moment, Zelos saw her eyes flash with concern. He was almost convinced—if he could remember correctly—that she was going to take him seriously. But he was going to ruin all that, if only to see if he could get it to happen again, and again, and as often as he needed. "Ah—eh heh heh. What if I told you it had to do with one of the maids in the Palace…?"

"—Zelos, you  _didn't_ —How could you be so—What  _exactly_  are you trying to—It's illegal!" she stammered in shock. Interestingly, it seemed her mind had jumped to the conclusion that he'd impregnated someone. Hah. Heaven forbid he ever pass along his genes.

"Relax, sweetheart, I'm just messing with ya!" he laughed. "Besides, it's not 'illegal,' it's 'illegitimate.' But I, the Great Zelos Wilder, would never sleep with just  _anyone_ , so…!"

Clutching her hand to her chest, Sheena said, "Oh, be serious, will you? What do I have to do to make you not give me a heart attack every time you open your mouth, shove food in it?"

He would have kept up his suggestive wordplay except for the fact that he was quite hungry and skipped lunch trying to find the place. "Hm? Food? That sounds promising…"

Exasperated by the exchange, Sheena showed him inside. She rushed to prepare something for Zelos despite being under-stocked. It didn't really matter that she'd ended up making the most delicious pineapple-and-beef curry he'd ever tasted. She had rather willingly agreed to his terms, which made his impending question somehow easier to ask. And yes, he did continue to wheedle his way around it, though Orochi's presence at the dinner table made things much more difficult to bear. (He found out later that Orochi had been appointed as Sheena's protector—whatever  _that_  meant.)

"So," Zelos began after a great deal of joking around, "why don't you come with me, then?"

"Go with you… where?" Sheena asked.

"On the trip," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Trip…? What trip?"

"Yeah, you know. The trip. Like a world tour. We'll start by going to the north, hit the coast, spend a weekend at the hot spring to relax a little before we go where the wind takes us… Taste every single foreign dish, never skip a meal, pass out from drinking all the local potion… Ahh, it'll be so great to just get out and have some fun, don't you think?" Zelos said. He'd actually planned a route that would take him quite literally around the world, and without staying in the same place for more than one night in a row. Judging by the look on Sheena's face, perhaps he planned a little  _too_  much; perhaps he was giving too much away. When she tilted her head, he took it as a cue to continue to try and hook her.

"I mean, it'll be like traveling, but there's nothing set, so we could pretty much go anywhere we wanted. Those're just ideas. Come on, what do you say, Sheena? Will you go on the trip with me?"

She remained silent, blinking.

"'Sides, if you come with me, my heart will feel a thousand times stronger! Imagine me, a poor Chosen far from home, all alone with strangers—except if his trusty gal's at his side to cheer him on! It's not like you to get all shy about things, you know…"

"That's quite enough," Orochi spoke, calmly and evenly. Oh, right, him; Zelos had quite forgotten that man was there. Must have been because he was a trained ninja or something. Either that or he was just an unremarkable man.

"What's the problem, boss-man? Can't I treat your Chief here to a little R 'n' R? Or are you jealous 'cause I'm not inviting you?" Zelos said. (Was his memory making him more predatory or did he really say that?)

The dream pinched in the center and he couldn't remember at all what Orochi looked like, or what Sheena looked like in that moment of his utter gall. His brain must have skipped ahead to a part where Sheena kept mouthing words, her eyes darting like lightning and her stance thunder. But then it all focused onto her syllables: "I understand every word you said, O Chosen One… Just who do you think you are? You are the  _Chosen_  and it is your responsibility—your responsibility…"

'My responsibility to take care of my people,' Zelos thought. 'But not my choice.' He shifted on the couch and rolled over onto his other side. No, Sheena couldn't have known that he wasn't offering to take her on an escape route rather than a vacation.

Somehow, though, she must have figured it out. His lucid dreaming continued. Not four hours after the time where his previous dream cut short, when the sun was setting upon a shelf of Earth, he came to a crossroads and saw a familiar figure waiting by a tree. He began to hum a tune, a song he remembered from his childhood. Its melody was easy to recall because of how the school system used it as a way to instill a sense of nationalism in kids as well as a choosing device. Eenie-meenie-miney-mo with notes, except the idea was that the King was deciding for you. (A secret he later learned was that it always ended up on the first one if you happened to be choosing between two things.)

That's not exactly why he remembered it, though. At the time, he couldn't place why he had the urge to sing this song when he saw her standing there, but now… She was there, wasn't she, all those years ago. He must have been twelve; Meltokio was hosting the Coliseum games; he was processing with the aristocracy; there were exuberant children like him whose jaws were flying with the lyrics to that same nationalistic song. It was, after all, tradition for people of all kinds to praise the King on holiday occasions.

" _Which road shall we take…_ "

And there was one sad-looking little girl tucked into the mass whose eyes never met his, whose mouth never opened. A heathen, he'd thought, who never went to school and never learned the words. Or just maybe, the girl didn't believe in such things. So, just maybe, when he sung it now, Sheena would remember that moment.

" _It shall be as the King of…_ "

" _Heaven tells us_ ," the figure by the tree joined. " _We shall do…"_

Zelos couldn't tell from such a distance, nor could he exactly discern her face from the strange new clothes she was wearing, but he decided that Sheena was grinning as she sang.

As usual, his finger ended up on the same option with which he began his pointing-song.

"Well, well," he said. "Seems I'm supposed to go left. But now that I think about it, I'd rather go right—as long as that girl waiting by the tree doesn't mind that I'm messing with the rules of Which Road."

"Not at all," she called back. She began to walk toward him as he caught up to where she was standing. Zelos could have swooned to see her actually joining him on this trip—and he really could have, factoring in the general heat of the day and the layers of disguise he was wearing. But it was best to play it as though she had decided to join him back in the village. He wouldn't want to be too suddenly enthusiastic. Mentally, he marked a tally on his "wins" side.

"Besides, I never really cared for that song," Sheena continued when they met.

He couldn't hold in a laugh. Was it coincidence that she said that? Either way, she was easily laughing along with him. "All right, then. Let's get a move on!" Zelos declared. The two set out on the path to the right—which, though Zelos knew the song wouldn't pick, led in the northern direction that he'd needed to go.

"… Hope I don't regret this," Sheena said under her breath. Zelos was about to protest in a loud, brazen manner, but found when he looked over at her face that she was still smiling. A joke.

"What was that?" he asked anyway.

"Ah—! Nothing. Let's be on our way!"

Zelos couldn't remember more about that evening aside from how beautiful she was in the sunset orange of that moment…

" _Master Zelos."_

Back in the world where he would be called such things, Zelos grudgingly stretched and inclined his ear toward the speaker, eyes remaining closed. He became aware of the hand that had made its way to the jewel on his chest and the faint ache it produced. He hated when he clawed at his key crest in his sleep

"Yo."

"I'm afraid this isn't a time to be enjoying the haze of rest. There is an urgent matter regarding Sir Bud and the city-state of Palmacosta."

Zelos's eyes flashed open and he sat up slowly. Sebastian was standing over him with an old fashion lantern in one hand and a basin tucked under his arm. It must have been—it  _couldn't_  have been morning yet, could it?"

"What's going on?" he cautioned to ask.

Sebastian set the lantern upon the small side table. "It appears—one would assume—that he has, more or less… razed the village in a bout of anger," he replied.

"Wait… what?" Zelos said. He rubbed his hand across his eyes and took a long stretch. Somewhere in his glorified consciousness, Lloyd's anger made sense. Of course, because Sheena was taking a trip with Zelos and not  _him_  and everything would be happy and perfect. But—Palmacosta? That was too left-field even for his dreams. Plus, Lloyd would never harm anyone, not after all he'd been through. Okay—not since Iselia, then.

"The King requests your audience post-haste, sir. I brought you a washcloth to freshen up a bit—you've been napping all evening."

"Er, thanks," Zelos said, becoming aware of the crusting around his mouth from drooling in his sleep. He probably had gunk in his eyes, too—most unbefitting of a Chosen. Quickly dashing his face with water and drying it with the provided towel, Zelos tried to collect his thoughts. "What time is it? More importantly, where's Seles? And Lloyd, for that matter?"

"Lady Seles is still asleep, sir, for it is nearing three o'clock."

"Unnnngh," Zelos whined. This would really throw off his beauty-sleep schedule. "Well, get her down here as soon as you can. There's no way I'm leaving her in this house even with Tokunaga around. Besides, if it's about Lloyd, she'd rather be in the know now than when… decisions are made."

"Surely. I will see to its hastening," Sebastian said before jogging, with little speed and much comic effort, up the long stairway in the hall.

Sitting briefly, Zelos readjusted his shoes, which he realized he had lazily left on during his nap. He also realized, sorely, that he'd missed dinner. His stomach gave a pathetic rumble.

"Aw, man," Zelos groaned. Upstairs, he could hear multiple pairs of footsteps. Seles would be down soon, and hopefully with enough sense not to waste time by changing clothes. Although, it would buy him time to grab a roll or something.

Quickly, he dashed to the kitchen's pantry and looked for some vestige of the dinner he had missed. It still smelled like some sort of meat—beef, likely. The chef had been making quite a few beef dishes lately. Zelos would never profess to be a culinary, but there was something suspicious about the way all his food was becoming more homogenous. Beef must have been in season. The season must be dictating the selection; the selection must be limited by money flow. Oh, boy. There was more to this missed dinner than he had anticipated, wasn't there? All he wanted was a few calories to tide himself over until he knew what was going on with Lloyd.

He spotted a sliced loaf of bread and grabbed two or three pieces. Shoving as much as he could into his mouth, he made his way back to the stairs. He ended up wishing he'd grabbed some water as the bread stuck tenaciously to his teeth. Luckily, he was distracted by a nightgown-clad girl and her footfalls.

"Big Brother!" Seles called as she trotted toward him, Tokunaga in tow. "What's happened to Lloyd?"

"I can't say for sure, but why don't you put on your shoes and we'll find out, okay?" Zelos replied. "Although," he continued, "I'm not sure I can have  _you_  around." He indicated Tokunaga as he ushered Seles to the door.

"Master Zelos, I can assure you that my presence will do you no harm," Tokunaga said.

Zelos sighed. He wasn't going to deal with Tokunaga's aggressiveness at three in the morning. "All right, whatever. Come along, but that whole vow of secrecy clause is still in effect, you know. Did Sebby tell you if there's still a crowd outside?"

Irritated, Tokunaga replied, "My uncle decided to return to bed. However, I did not see movement when I looked out the window a moment ago."

"Let's just go through the dungeon passage. It's quicker," Seles suggested.

In their most informal dress and state of awareness, the Wilder children and the younger butler rushed to the hidden passageway beneath the main stairwell. It was only a short distance to the palace but such a corridor would shield them from whatever thieves or assassins that could be roaming. Now that Lloyd was on the lam, there'd certainly be random mobs popping up for all sorts of revenge.

After Tokunaga secured the lock on the estate side entrance, Zelos put a hand to the jewel on his chest. A faint orange light was transferred to his hand which he then used as a guide for the trio as they crossed underground. Which was odd—previously, all he had to do to get that effect was think about it and a bright burst of energy would emerge. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had replaced this glass jewel with his Cruxis Crystal.

Within five minutes, they had reached the castle entrance stationed in the armory. Tokunaga scarcely touched the lock before an attendant hurriedly undid it for him and ushered them through to the hallway.

"Welcome, Chosen One," a nearby guard said. There was a bit of disconnect before he continued, "… and guests." Although he couldn't tell through the helmet, Zelos was convinced that the guard was sneering at his half-sister. That old law about half-elves not being permitted in the palace extended to Seles, as her lineage was rather incriminating. But the laymen, didn't they hear the news that Cruxis was founded upon the ideals of one half-elf?

"Yeah, hi. Got a problem?" Zelos asked. Clearly, that man didn't understand that he hadn't eaten a proper dinner.

"N-no, sir. We had just been anxiously awaiting your arrival. Please, quickly, through this door. I'll see to it that you're not otherwise disturbed."

In the receiving hall, the King was adorned with a nightshift and heavy robe, lacking a crown. Only candles lit the interior, which bounced menacing shadows onto all their faces. Zelos remembered a single other time he had been in this situation.

Zelos bowed, which cued Tokunaga to follow suit and Seles to drop slightly into a curtsey.

"Ah, Chosen One, it is a relief to see you made it unharmed," the King addressed.

"Certainly, your Highness. Sorry for the delay. I had a, a few things to take care of before I left," he replied. "I'm sure you understand that my sister needed to come with me."

The King furrowed his brow. "Indeed… However, that is… perhaps, unnecessary in terms of what I am about to tell you."

"Oh, really? Because I was under the impression that, being in the same household as me right now, and how I'm one of Lloyd's strongest allies, it might be in her best interest to know if there are going to be more murderers out for our blood," he said casually, shifting this weight and not making eye contact until the last word.

"It… shall be at your own discretion. However, I do advise that someone with such a fragile constitution be cared for upon hearing the news," the King leveled.

Seles glanced at Zelos, then Tokunaga, then back at the King. "Please, your Majesty. I'm fairly certain I can handle what you might have to say."

"Very well, then. It was reported that Sir Lloyd Irving Bud has accosted and burned parts of Palmacosta." Expectedly, Seles emitted a gasp. But the King kept speaking in a politician's even tone, immune to the emotional connection behind the information. "The fatalities are at least nine human lives upon report, but there are likely to be more now. Three stores and four homes are damaged as well."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zelos saw Seles's knees lock. But she wouldn't fall—not in the presence of the very royalty that scorned her for her weaknesses.

"Additionally," the King continued, "it appears that he escaped with no notification of direction. Moreover, none of our informants can discern a motive."

Well, that was news. Zelos had been hoping that perhaps they'd found Lloyd, that at the very worst he'd be locked up in maximum security at the Coliseum. Why would he run from a crime, much less one he committed? Something wasn't clicking.

"H-how could that be? Lloyd… he couldn't do that. He wouldn't," Seles said. Tokunaga offered the girl a handkerchief, which she declined under the scrutiny of the King. Instead, she clenched her little fingers into a fist.

Zelos shifted his weight, arms crossed. "You said 'reported.' Who exactly did you hear this from?" he asked brusquely.

"Precisely why I summoned you," the King replied. "The leader of the investigative mission was none other than Mizuho's own…"

 _Don't say it. I know what you're going to say, so don't say it, don't say It, don't say it_.

"… Sheena Fujibayashi, accompanied by her closest council of scouts."

Zelos closed his eyes briefly. He no longer had the authority to question whether the information was false. It would be questioning the effectiveness of the Mizuho scout network and therefore Sheena herself. But because it came down to Lloyd, Sheena would be her most thorough. He couldn't put her integrity in jeopardy like that.

"Can't there be some explanation? Some… sort of way that it wasn't Lloyd?" Seles asked. Zelos could see the tears welling up behind her eyelashes.

"I can assure all of you on my life that if She—…  _she_ 's working on it, it's gotta be true," Zelos stated. "But I would have thought she'd, y'know, maybe come tell me about it herself before it came down to an audience hall."

The King gestured with his left hand. "Please, let's not jump to too many conclusions, Chosen. We are expecting a scout to update us shortly with follow-up investigation results. I would think it best that you remain within reach until that time," he suggested.

"A scout…" Zelos repeated. Generally, 'a scout' meant her first-in-command, Orochi. When on the job, he was efficient to a fault. Not to mention, as Zelos was reminded by his recent memory, he was infatuated with his boss. It might not be a pleasant encounter. But then, there was the off-chance that Sheena herself would be the one reporting, like just before. In that case, Zelos would never forgive himself if he missed her.

"Well, uh, guess it couldn't hurt to wait and find out straight from the source," he concluded.

"Big Brother," Seles urged. She gave him a strained look, her face lined with weariness.

"We shall make accommodations in the Red Room for yourself and the young lady," the King said.

Tokunaga nodded, replying, "I shall escort them."

"Thank you, your Grace. And don't let that scout get away without talking to me first," Zelos said, only half-jokingly.

He and Seles followed Tokunaga and the maid who had been attending upon the King to the secondary staircase. Just as he took the first step, Zelos felt another pulse of not-quite-pain from the glass jewel on his chest. Something was not right.

Seles ended up falling asleep on the bed nearly as soon as they arrived in the Red Room. Bless her, she still had her nightgown on. But he felt stuffy in his twice-worn clothing, even as he slumped against the wall with a sumptuous pillow; stuffy until the verge of sleep, which bit at him though he'd surely gotten enough in the past day.

It was the same air as the last time Sheena made him wait.

_Another sunset, another day near the end of the world-tour trip. Zelos remembered feeling rather dirty and sour after working a day in the fields with some Iselian farmers. Honestly, he never planned to lift a finger on this trip, but they were in Iselia and that came with particular difficulties. Those being, if Lloyd says you ought to help him in that field and Sheena hears him say this, you'd better get yourself knee-deep in fertilizer and do a better job than he does. There's no "integrity" without "grit." There's no risking what you think might be her attachment to you because your rival is ambitious on this one and only occasion._

_A comforting, perfect smell met Zelos as he opened the door to the small house. From the doorway, he could see Sheena laboring over a pot of something—wasn't it supposed to be Pescatore? It didn't smell like Pescatore but he'd sooner give her the benefit of the doubt than mock her and have his food poisoned for it. She hummed a little song as she stirred, completely unaware of the outside world. Completely completing the image of a cozy house in the middle of nowhere with all the time in the world. Zelos had to make sure it was real. He cleared his throat just loudly enough for it to startle her._

" _Ah—! Don't startle me like that," Sheena gasped, turning to see her visitor. "Lloyd told me you were going to work the fields today. I didn't think you'd actually do it. I'll bet the one doing most of the work was him…!"_

_Though she smiled and returned to her work (now adding vegetables, now satay), her words still didn't sound right. He could have lived a thousand years in a scenario like this if she hadn't opened her mouth. "Lloyd" this and "Lloyd" that. It kept him on his toes to have a word give him such a visceral reminder that he didn't belong here. They didn't belong here. It was the second night here in Iselia, and that was not acceptable._

_What the hell had he been thinking? For just one second—seeing her in the kitchen in this little palace with a smile on her face—! What, suddenly the terrorists wouldn't find him? Or her?_

_And now she thought she could have dinner here. This wasn't Mizuho; this wasn't some hidden village. This was Lloyd's house. If anyone in the world were to be targeted, it would be Lloyd. As the situation stood, there were too many powerful leaders (of sorts) in one location._

_Besides, she promised… He brought her here to surprise her, to let her have a little metaphorical cake even if she couldn't have it. By following him around, she agreed not to endanger a village by overstaying her welcome. That fight he'd gotten into with Orochi earlier, the one regarding her duties to protect her people… He supposed there was only one reason her mind would be wandering, and he didn't want to think about it. Not after all this time._

" _Dinner, eh?" he said, perhaps a little more gruffly than he should have._

_No response. She kept putting vegetables into the stew. Nothing like a passive-aggressive afternoon._

" _So, you're making dinner, are you?" Zelos asked again, a little more loudly._

_Sheena whipped her head around but wouldn't look him in the eye. "Yeah, that's right. You got a problem or something?"_

"…  _Not at all," he began, "Oh, except, how long do you plan on staying here exactly?" More anger-edged silence. "You know, those terrorists a while back… we don't know when they could resurface. We agreed we wouldn't stay anywhere for more than one night, remember? One of our rules?"_

_Sheena moved to feed the fire and wiped her hands on a cloth, still unspeaking._

" _Okay, I know I was joking around yesterday, but this is really important. Look, can't you just give it up already?"_

" _Give what up, Zelos?" Sheena barked. Finally, she turned to him and glared straight into his eyes. In that moment, it became perfectly clear: this would be a woman scorned. But did she know what she was doing to him? Playing coy, playing dumb, but then following him around the world without question, and creating happy little moments. Actually caring for his well-being. It all changed when she stepped over the Irving threshold. She played the housewife role, but not for him. No, in her eyes, he was invisible here. He stood knee-deep in manure all day, for Martel's sake! And all she could think of was to call him lazy?_

"…  _As if you have to ask," he replied. As if you have to pretend you're not head-over-heels in love with someone else._

" _I don't know what you're talking about," Sheena said sharply._

_Zelos sighed, exhausted with her little games. "Look, I want a straight answer before I go clean up. If you want to… stay here instead of coming with me, you should be clear about it. It's your choice. Just… if you stay, I think you know what you'd be getting into, and believe me when I say, the only one who's gonna end up hurt will be you. You've gotta pick your battles wisely, as they say."  
_

_He was surprised that he hadn't been run through with a kitchen knife for the blunt impudence of his comment. It was unlike Sheena to be so quiet. Even if it was something that needed to be said, Zelos's provocation wasn't getting any reaction other than tense silence from across the room._

_He continued, "Oh, so this isn't about matters of the heart, then. Ah, yeah, never mind I said any of that. I'll bet you have plenty of suitors asking for your hand, eh? Am I right? Well, even if you don't, I could always go and find you one, since you're not attached to anyone or anything. Just say the word an—"_

_All the shrieking he had ever heard in his life, from the cries of his half-sister as a child to the sobs of a grown man at the wrong end of a Cruxis blade, could not prepare him for Sheena's response. "That is ENOUGH!" she shouted. "How—How dare you insinuate that anyone, much less that I could be as careless and shallow as you!"_

"…  _What was that, now?"  
_

" _If this girl isn't fun anymore, you'll go to that one. If not that one, then the other! They're all expendable to the Great Zelos Wilder. Maybe someone like you just can't understand, you know, actually liking someone enough to want to be with them for more than a day—"_

"  _How can you say that?" Zelos said, anger focusing to the tips of his teeth. He meant to scare her off with his teasing about Lloyd, but she'd taken it way beyond that. Sure, he may seem shallow on the outside and he may flirt with any given woman. But this trip was something sacred. It was a little piece of himself that he could share with the only other soul adventurous enough; a glimpse into the man behind the mask. Was this whole trip, this whole month and a half just a joke to her? "You were the one…—! As if this all—!"_

" _It only hurts because it's true, anyway!" Sheena retorted._

" _Stop joking around about this!"_

" _You, too!"_

_Zelos clenched his fists so hard that his nails left deep purple indentations in his palms. He had to fight the urge to punch a hole in the wall, because that wouldn't get his point across—it would just give them another reason to stay for another day to fix it, and then Zelos would truly look like a monster._

_He counted, one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand, four-one-thousand…_

"…  _If we stay here any longer, we'll be like sitting ducks," he began. He could feel his vocal tracts tightening. "Something could happen to this village and its people at any time, and we wouldn't even see it coming."_

 _Without missing a beat, Sheena said, "_ You're  _the one being targeted. Not me."_

Just as Zelos turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him, there was a sharp rap upon the door to the Red Room.


	4. Whatever Tomorrow Brings

It was not quite dawn when Zelos heard the knock. Grudgingly, he hoisted himself up and made his way to the door, but not before flashing a quick light from his hand to ensure Seles's slumber. As he moved the handle, the mystery guest attempted to knock again.

"Shhh, with the knocking, I'm here," Zelos said, and opened the door slowly.

Suddenly, a hand slipped through the crack and grabbed his wrist.

"Don't speak, Chosen. You're not even supposed to be here," the assailant announced in a whisper. It could have been anyone, though it was to be the messenger.

For half a moment, Zelos convinced himself that it was possible that it  _could_  be her…

But the voice of none other than Orochi would continue: "I'm here to deliver a message. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, fantastic, it's  _you_ ," Zelos almost said, but he was still mildly shocked from being seized and threatened. Instead, he said, "Wait, what?"

"I said, don't speak. Take this. Read it, shred it, burn it." Orochi, unseen around the mostly-closed door, shoved a small folded paper into Zelos's hand (which he may or may not have twisted in the process).

"Ouch, geez. Gentle with the goods, there," Zelos cursed under his breath. "This the official update?"

"This is what you need to know," the man stated, withdrawing his arm back through the crack of the door.

"Wait. Before you go, I gotta know―" His head was pounding, blood loud in his ears. Why did he feel that pang of fear? "Is… Sheena handling it okay?"

In the seconds of silence, Zelos surmised that Orochi must have been debating whether or not the answer was worth his time. He half-expected the door to slam on his nose. Luckily, Orochi must have been feeling more benevolent than usual, for he deigned to give a reply.

"I am not authorized by my Chief to reveal such information, but I will tell you: Don't go looking for her. Just because you're still head-over-heels for her doesn't mean she would come back to you," Orochi hissed.

Stunned for a moment, the only thing Zelos could think to say was, bitterly, "Same goes for you."

And then came the slam.

"Nngh!" Seles groaned, sitting up. "Zo-Zo, not so loud!"

"Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to. Go back to sleep," Zelos whispered. He walked over to the old-fashioned lamp on the bedside table and, picking it up, lighted a flame with a short spell.

"Sure, tell me to go to sleep, then light a wick? Now it's hardly worth it," Seles retorted.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry. Just gotta find out what's in this letter." Zelos set the lamp on the floor and unfolded the letter―which was quite a chore, considering those Igaguri ninjas tended to fold things up in the most ornate manner possible.

" _M_ ―" Oh, wait, the letter was backwards. It would have seemed odd, except that during Zelos's "world tour" with Sheena he noticed that she tended to write in this goofy antiquated right-to-left style.

Which meant that this note was from Sheena herself.

Quickly, he read the note to see what she might have had to say: " _C of T,_ " (Presumably, Chosen of Tethe'alla) " _Hey, you jerk. Don't know where you were last night or even for the past month―do I want to know? Probably not―but I had kind of hoped you would have the decency to join in the investigation. Currently, the network is trying to solve exactly how this disaster happened. One branch will be specializing in rebuilding the city. Another will be tracking things for me. Yet another will be keeping an eye on this Vanguard―likely that will be led by O._

" _If you want to be useful for once, you might do well to visit Clara in Palmacosta. She's Governess-General now, if you didn't know. Anyway, an important townsperson disappeared and, should they have left by boat, it would be impossible for them to return. Considering your special talent for bypassing land and water, it would probably help the city a lot if you would find this person. Plus, I hear they might know something about Lloyd, which is the point of my entire mission._

" _So, please. If you have any courtesy at all, please do this for me. However, if you want to question whether or not Lloyd is guilty, you needn't bother trying to contact me. Right now, the most important thing to do is unify the forces of good in this world, and the only way I can be sure that there_ is _a good side is to make one. But, you'd only join if it's in your favor, right?_

" _I'll be in an undisclosed location, so don't go looking for me. You'll be wasting efforts you could be using on the home front. I'm sorry that I couldn't be here in person, but I'm sure you understand. We'll talk someday. Take care of yourself._

" _With reluctant affection,_

" _M."_ (Mizuho?)

Zelos got chills down the backs of his legs from seeing her handwriting.

"What does it say?" Seles interrupted.

"Oh. It, um… I need to do some peace work for Palmacosta to try and patch things up."

Seles sat up abruptly. "And Lloyd?"

"He's innocent," Zelos said simply. Maybe it was a lie, but he wasn't going to start betraying his friends again. Not ever. "Innocent all the way. He was framed. They don't know exactly by whom, but, uh, they've got a person working on it."

"Well, that's good at least." Seles yawned. "What time is it?"

"No clue. Should I ring for a servant?"

"Well, I suppose if it's not  _beneath_  you, then, certainly. And ask them for a newspaper, too."

Zelos rolled his eyes at his sister's request. Considering they should not have been in the palace at all, overstaying their welcome would be more than a faux pas.

"Look," he began, "I'm sure Sebby's got one for us back at the house already. What needs to happen is: I gotta go talk with His Majesty to secure my mission. Then, we gotta get you back to the house. Or maybe Tokunaga could―wait, where  _is_  Tokunaga?"

Seles smirked. "Why don't we just  _ask a servant_?"

"You're kind of a brat, you know that? Getting too used to this catered life." Zelos squatted and held the letter upside-down over the lamp's flame. He let the flame slowly creep up over the words that Sheena had penned not hours prior―over the Clara, over the Vanguard. His eye caught on the large M just to the side of his thumb. Before the fire could destroy the last corner of the letter, Zelos took a quick breath and blew it out. Now all that would remain was the M.

* * *

As it turned out, Tokunaga had been in the kitchen eating and flirting with the maids all night in an effort to stay alert. Supposedly, he'd be better able to protect the Chosen family if properly fed―but Zelos could smell something awry. Tokunaga was never partial to him but that had nothing to do with his responsibility. After all, shouldn't  _protecting_  them mean  _guarding_  their room?

At any rate, he stood at the back of the meeting hall as Zelos conversed with the King.

"No, I really don't see a reason to get the royal army involved," Zelos said, sighing lightly.

"If you're certain. Know that I can have them on standby if your life would be threatened," the King replied. It was no surprise that he looked as exhausted as Zelos, considering the news they had been through. Zelos tried to imagine what it would have looked like to watch their conversation: two barely waking nobles scrambling to make ends meet.

"Nah, it's cool. I'll leave as soon as I can, but I gotta say, I can't do it until I secure my sis."

"Why couldn't you simply take a coach? I'll have my service―"

"No, please. I can't be seen traveling by marked transportation or I'll be… targeted, likely. Plus, I'm working for Mizuho and you know how they get about secrecy."

As his fingers grazed the tip of his beard, the King paused. "I suppose you do have a point. What about the issue of speed? Your fleetness is key to the success of this mission. A man's life wavers in the balance."

"Right, right. Well, let's just say I have a plan that needs to be executed after dark," Zelos implied. Though it was risky, he was willing to take his Cruxis Crystal to better employ the wings he'd taken the pains to earn. But those would have to be used closer to dawn and dusk than in absolute sunlight or darkness so as not to paint him as a target. It was better that the King not know of this plan, since he had been unaware of Zelos's total involvement with the Cruxis system from the start.

"You don't mean travel by Rheaird, do you?" the King asked.

Zelos shook his head. "No, neither as obvious nor as illegal. But I'll swear on my life that I'll be there within 48 hours." He bowed a little more deeply than usual.

"Well, Chosen, I have no choice but to trust you. Permission granted. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zelos bowed again, this time more slightly. He turned on his heel and headed toward Tokunaga, who guarded the secret corridor in the hall―but not before remembering he had a few other things on his mind.

"Oh, Your Majesty? I forgot―" he called from across the room―"since it may be a while for this and further peace negotiations, would you pen a quick permit for me? I need some sort of legislation allowing half-elves in the aristocratic district. And about three officers to protect my residence while I'm gone."

The King glanced at one of his guards, then back at the redhead. "W-well, I'm not so sure that I can allow half-elves into this highest tier of authority…"

"Okay, fine. Quarter-elf? Look, I just need her to be safe while I'm gone," he pleaded.

"I assure you that the crowds in your district have dissipated in anticipation of a Sylvaranti revolt."

"Aw, come on, man, would it hurt to add just a little extra protection―"

"If I may interject," Tokunaga said authoritatively. The King motioned for him to speak. "Would it be entirely impossible for me to employ two additional guards for the Wilder estate using the Chosen's inherited funds? It is to my knowledge that they are no longer being used to aid the Church or the nation."

Zelos scrunched up his face, dismayed at the connotation. "Can't the military just pay for that?"

"Actually, I meant the trust funds that had been locked since Tethe'alla regained control of the mana flow," the servant clarified.

"… We have  _more_  money?" Zelos asked under his breath incredulously.

"Ah, that sounds like a fine solution. I can ask the Church to return and integrate these funds into a, how one would say, protection service for the elite," the King agreed. "Though as of now, the primary focus of the Chosen should be his mission under the Mizuho community. If you would, Sir Wilder."

Grudgingly, Zelos bowed again and followed Tokunaga (that arrogant, know-it-all  _prick_! Wasting yet more of the Chosen's funds) down the passage that led to his house.

* * *

" **PALMACOSTA ATTACKED; IRVING AT LARGE** ," read the headline of the newspaper in Seles's hands. Across the right-hand side of the double spread, there was a photo of a small child sitting in front of a charred building. "Oh, I see what they did there. Nice pity angle," Zelos commented. God damned Friedrich Callas.

"You said he was innocent, Zelos," Seles barked, turning a page to access the crossword page.

"According to what I know, he is," he replied coolly. It wasn't a lie. There was no hard evidence toward either side at the moment, as Lloyd was on the lam. He didn't even know if that was true. Lloyd was probably busting an Exsphere broker in the deep woods, for all Sylvarant knew. Those peasants made everything so confusing.

"Hey, d'ya mind if I quick read that article before I head out?" Zelos asked. One hand casually balanced itself atop the hilt of his sword.

"Not at all, Bo-Zo." Seles, instead of carefully removing the section from the main bulk, released her fingers and let the newspaper crash to the ground. That was, apart from the single crossword that stayed in her hands where the rest had been. Zelos rolled his eyes and bent to pick up the pages now strewn across the marble floor.

"You can be a brat, you know."

Another header caught his eye:  **VANGUARD VIGILANTES: WORKING FOR YOUR FREEDOM!**  He scrambled to disentangle the single sheet from the rest. As he lifted it, he saw, accompanying the article, four pictures of what must have been Sylvaranti figureheads.

" _Meet the team_ …" He skimmed the lines until the bolded lettering, " _ **BRUTE LUALDI**_ _, a powerful Palmacosta native and widower, has arisen as the new leader of the widely acclaimed Vanguard of Sylvarant._ " Zelos was reminded of the general slant of the press of a sudden. " _He is best known for his leadership talent in the ports of the city and his forceful yet eager-to-please nature. It seems nothing will get in the way of this Vanguard vet…"_ blah, blah… " _will want revenge on Lloyd Irving for the repeated attacks on his hometown and the murder of his wife. Hopefully, the companions of Irving have the sense to disassemble before the violence breaks out._

" _ **ALICE LAREAUX**_ _… may look childish… really a contending military governess… monster companions, we can be sure of safety when it comes to monster raids… her silver-tongued talent… She even swears equal protection for every town in Sylvarant. What a sweetheart of Salvation!..."_

Oh, Zelos could have vomited. He hoped for her sake that this Alice character wasn't as egotistic as the praise suggested. Of course, that's the way it tended to be with these hero-figures. He was willing to bet good money that Mithos had acted the same way when he began his journey over four thousand years ago.

" _ **DECUS FABEN**_ _, … loyal only to Alice… family devastation influenced by Lloyd Irving's attack on Palmacosta, though he had been old enough to admit himself to an orphanage across the mountains…_

" _ **HAWK**_ _… another of Alice's subordinates specializing in the monster combat unit… also a victim of Irving's Palmacosta disasters…_

Zelos's eyes were catching on all the important spots, especially the word "Irving," in a frantic attempt to find relevant information. So far, it seemed everyone had a personal grudge against Lloyd. It was amazing, wasn't it: the ability of leading figures to have such a widespread effect on the public's lives. People Lloyd had never met now claimed their woes special enough to enter into face-to-face combat with him. Half-elves wanted to kill him even though Lloyd already supported their existence. Sure, people wanted to assassinate Zelos, that made sense―but innocent Lloyd? He suddenly envied Sheena's ability to investigate whatever she wanted without having government backfire.

" _ **RICHTER ABEND**_ ," the article continued, " _Lualdi's right-hand man and a proud half-elven activist… most known for his use of the Mitoan style of wielding an axe as well as a blade… does most of the behind-the-scenes work for the Vanguard. He wished not to be pictured according to the old Aspanian myth that photographs steal mana at the moment of capture. Especially for his aesthetic views, Abend has a grudge against Irving's streak of false promises for change. Claiming to have also lost a loved one in the recent Palmacosta assault, he plans to found a new branch of the Vanguard entirely dedicated to research on the impacts of life forces known as "Summon Spirits" on the mind of an average human. This is particularly groundbreaking as a concept, for never before have studies been done. Also, the association of Irving with a master of the art of summoning known to draw forth the "Spirits" draws attention to the boy's sense of indiscretion…_ "

"Oh, no," Zelos muttered. "No, that  _can't_ be right. Sylvarant is leaps and bounds behind Tethe'alla in research…"

Not to mention, it put Sheena in the Sylvarant crossfire to boot.

"What's that, Chosen?" Seles asked.

Covering the only way he knew how, Zelos replied, "Oh, Sylvarant's trying to build a coliseum―not gonna happen, in my opinion―um, just have Sebastian or someone clean this up and archive one. I―I gotta get going." He pushed his hands into the floor to give himself leverage to stand up. "You know what I'm gonna ask, right?"

"Hold on a second," she said. She carefully pried the Cruxis Crystal from its place in her crest and handed it to Zelos, who in turn released his glass placeholder and handed it to her. Each sibling clicked in their respective jewel in an almost-rehearsed manner. It was nothing new for the two of them to switch up the crystals, after all.

Seles coughed gently into her hand.

"Okay, well… If you're going now, just… don't do anything stupid," she warned. Zelos smiled warmly, reaching out to embrace her.

"We both know you love me," he said. He let go and saw a small smile creep over her lips.

"Be careful."

"Sure, sure. See ya, my darling sis!"

As Zelos stepped out the back door to the courtyard (taking precautions despite the crowd's disappearance), he realized that he'd forgotten to read the main article. Oh, well, he figured, it was probably better that he hadn't. It's not like Lloyd was guilty, anyway.

* * *

The first leg of the journey was rough. Not only because Zelos was still recovering from his bizarre sleeping pattern―a nap or two didn't help all that much―but because the last time he'd been adventuring like a country bumpkin it was with Sheena. Sure, there had been frequent visits in between, but they had been full of promise, of adrenaline, of happiness. A different kind of urgency behind them, as he understood.

It was also difficult to travel by foot. While in the open, Zelos had to travel during hours of inconspicuousness and without the luxury of his wings. And on top of that, it was though he could feel the weight of the Cruxis Crystal crushing his sternum.

Flying, then, would take place during dusk and dawn hours, when Zelos's wings would match the color of the sky. Even at such times, he flew only a foot or two off the ground or water. Thank goodness it only took two days to get from Meltokio to Palmacosta―he didn't want to have to go into any town in case someone should remember him. Though he was tempted when he ran out of provisions.

He arrived in Palmacosta, where just before noon he found himself witnessing a bit of a tussle in the square.

There was a redheaded guy with some pretty questionable clothing and what looked to be pointed ears, and he was wielding two weapons against a wimpy little blond kid. Eh, whatever. They were probably just practicing sparring. Lloyd and Genis did that quite a bit, if he recalled correctly.

But behind the blondie, a skinny little girl with pigtails and flowers in her hair shrank with worry. Well, that decided it. He wasn't about to let somebody's daughter or sister be harmed in a reckless boys' squabble.

As he slinked by buildings in an effort to better observe the situation―just in case that girl was actually in any danger―he could hear the two boys yelling. It became obvious they were fighting about something. He drew his sword. Time for the Great and Powerful Chosen to be of use.

"So, I'm not going to let anyone hurt Marta ever again! Not even you!" the slighter one shouted.

Judging from the situation, it seemed the redhead had the advantage and was doing most of the bullying. "You actually made a pact with Ratatosk? You fool!" he said.

Uh-oh. Pact? This had to stop before anybody mentioned anything else. Plus, the girl was still in danger.

"Yes! Why not?" the wimpy kid whined.

Zelos aimed (he didn't realize it, but it was definitely in an Igaguri way) and threw his blade directly toward the redhead's axe―but it was spotted and countered by the kid's other weapon, the sword. Zelos's sword went flying and stuck straight up in the ground.

"Oh, sorry about that! It looks like my hand just slipped there a bit," Zelos announced. Well, that was enough to stop the kids' combat, at least. He picked up his blade on his way to make sure the girl wasn't hurt.

And he'd dealt with younger girls fawning over him quite often. He didn't want to intimidate her (or be incredibly suspicious) by circling her to make sure she was unhurt, so he reached out for her hand and quickly spun her as though in a dance. The girl suspected nothing as he dashingly said, "My darling kitten, you're not hurt, are you?" Of course, he already knew that she wasn't.

The girl was speechless. The (what he assumed would be a) brat was dumbfounded. Jealous, no doubt. Ah, that's what years of practice could do.

The redhead, however, spoke: "Wait a minute, aren't you―?"

Zelos took a good look at his face for the first time. Green eyes, spectacles―yes, for certain, there were pointed ears under his odd haircut. And his clothing was reminiscent of what he'd seen in―Sybak?  _And_  it was worn and sported tears. With the aid of the Cruxis crystal, Zelos saw emanating from him the mana signature with recent struggle and exhaustion, though likely not with that kid. Then it occurred to him: this man just used an axe and a sword. Mitoan style, definitely, and the last place he'd seen it was Derris Kharlan.

Richter Abend…?

"Well, hello," Zelos said. "I don't know who you are and normally I could care less about some guy knowing who I am. But one thing's for certain: you need to learn the proper way to treat a true lady. Or perhaps you wanna go up against me and that kid? Doubt you'll get far with that battered body."

"No thanks, I think I'll pass. You two are not my concern. Emil, Alice is plotting something. Be careful," the redhead advised. He quickly fled the scene, perhaps understanding that he had been discovered.

So Emil and Alice, huh…? This Alice wasn't…  _that_  Alice, was she?

The mousy-haired girl (really, this was Alice Lareaux? Didn't look like the picture) turned to Zelos. "Thank you so much for helping me just now. What was your name?" she asked, voice saccharine.

"I'm the great Zelos Wilder! But  _you_  can call me Zelos," he replied casually. "Now, I'd love to take you out tonight, but I have an appointment at the Governess-General's office. Until next time, ciao, princess!"

Luckily, town hall was only a few feet away, and he could distance himself from two of the most influential Sylvaranti leaders. Whether or not he'd be seen in the audience hall, Zelos had to get into some arena of safety before any commoners discovered who he was.

"So," Zelos announced as he waltzed through the door of town hall, "who are the kids?"

Clara, the new (and widowed) Governess-General Dorr, sat behind the grand desk of the town hall offices, patiently waiting for anyone who would enter. Her cheeks were more sunken than he had remembered. "Why, hello, Chosen of Tethe'alla. Welcome to Palmacosta. It has been a while," she said softly.

"Thank you, Ms. Dorr. You're looking lovely as ever."

"Oh, you're too kind," she laughed in reply. "You don't need to use such formalities here."

"Ahaha. Well, guess I can only use that line so many times. But then again, you've always been good at seeing right through people, Clara. Anywho! Let's get to business," Zelos said, swinging his arm out to grab the chair positioned before Clara, "the kids outside. Who were they?"

"I'm not sure who you mean just yet. Please, sit. We have much to discuss."

Zelos slumped into the chair, looping his arm around the back and crossing his left leg over his right. "So it would seem … So," Zelos sighed, "Normally, I'd try to pad this with as much fluffy verbiage as possible, but I can't seem to wrap my head around this whole incident. I mean, I don't even know the details."

"Firstly―and frankly, I can't understand why my residence wasn't attacked," Clara said. "I was not aware of the… attack until I was awakened by the smoke. At that point, homes were already destroyed and most of the damage had already been done. I didn't see his face myself."

"Probably better that you didn't." Zelos found himself unable to look her in the eye.

Clara paused; uncomfortable, unknowing of how to fix what she had just implied. "Still, it seems out of character―"

"It couldn't have been him," Zelos protested immediately.

"And I would love to believe that, Mr. Wilder. I truly, truly would." Clara's eyes reflected a weary state only a woman who had experienced such a loss could understand. First her child, then her husband, then her city. Then her city  _again._ This time it wasn't the entire city, as Zelos had seen from the intact square. Still, it was the only thing she had.

"All I'm saying is, whoever did this… It doesn't make sense," Zelos huffed. "So what can I do?"

"What can…? Ah. Yes, well, I called you here for one disappearance, but it seems another has taken priority. One of our top fishermen, Thomas Dudley, has recently disappeared while working on his research. However, I'm fairly certain of his location in the Dynasty Ruins," Clara explained. "It should be simple. I believe there is a wide chasm that he somehow managed to cross, but the rope he used had been cut by monsters before the rest of his team could reach him."

"You'd like me to get him, then. Any chance you'd want me to find that other person, too?"

"Well…" Clara turned her head, unsure of whether it was worth saying. "This girl is at high risk, should she be found."

"Oh? How could a girl be at high risk?"

"It is young Miss Marta Lualdi, daughter of Brute Lualdi, leader of the Vanguard."

"That mean-lookin' bald guy has a daughter?" Zelos asked. "I mean―so, you're not a proponent of the Vanguard?"

"Oh, heavens, no," Clara exclaimed. "In fact, it is my belief that they are at the root of what happened here just days ago. You see, Palmacosta is home to their base. I'm not sure exactly where, but it's in the western district. That's the only part that was attacked. It makes… sense.

"So, if Marta were to be returned to them, they would only be encouraged to destroy the party that kidnapped her in the first place. Which, for all I know, could be in the hands of Lloyd Irving himself." Zelos sighed audibly, causing Clara to straighten in her seat. "But, it's just as likely that's not the case. Who knows what the Vanguard's motives are? I certainly do not. That is why I'm hesitant to bend to their wishes."

"Yeah," Zelos replied. "Always tough to have to make decisions like that. But just in case I should run into her, what does she look like?"

"She's a small girl, fifteen years old, probably only reaches your shoulder. She was last seen wearing two white flowers in her hair, in long pigtails―"

Zelos snorted and stood up. "Oh, no way. Really? That's Marta?"

"Yes, why?" Clara asked urgently.

"I  _just_  saw her outside―only, I thought she was someone else because she was with this guy that matched the description in the newspaper."

"What? Outside? But what would― _Who was that man_?" Clara pressed, also rising to her feet.

"I believe it was Richter Abend."

"And not an individual called Hawk?"

"Can't be sure, but the dude had an axe and a sword and a smarmy, educated look about him," Zelos described.

"That's Richter. Thank goodness it wasn't Hawk."

"Is that because of some Alice gal? Because even Richter said to beware of her."

"Yes, Chosen One. Alice may very well have been the one who leaked the location of the headquarters. Many suspect her of treason toward our nation as well," Clara sighed. "Though I suppose we're not off the hook just yet. With Richter around, we know the Vanguard's still patrolling the area. Would you… would you mind helping the city of Palmacosta with one extra favor?"

Bowing in a grandiose manner, Zelos offered, "Anything I can do for the lovely Governess-General."

After all, Sheena had tied herself to Luin, hadn't she? It was good publicity, an extra measure of protection, to have an entire city backing him. The capitol, especially. It had been a while since he felt the adoration of the public…

"I ask that you not let that hateful Alice Lareaux near Marta. I have the suspicion that she's after Marta, being paid in blood money or some other unsavory reward from jealous infantrymen. Please, whenever you can deter her… do. The city and I will thank you graciously."

* * *

Zelos hastily headed toward the marina. As pretty as Palmacosta had become after the Tower of Salvation collapsed, the place was beginning to bring up some memories. Specifically, that old warship on the far dock. He remembered taking a walk to look at it with Lloyd, Genis, Regal, and Sheena―it was supposed to be a guys' trip, but Sheena had always been fond of the water and jumped at the chance.

" _Wow! I didn't think it would be this big!" Genis exclaimed. "Even the EC wasn't as big as this ship."_

" _The EC wasn't supposed to be as grand as a show ship. Though even I'm surprised at its exquisiteness," Regal said._

" _This is awesome! I feel like a pirate!" Lloyd shouted. He ran up the wooden plank and onto the deck under the wary gazes of nearby guards._

_Sheena was laughing as Genis joined Lloyd and they pretended to have a duel on the main deck. Zelos couldn't take his eyes off her. The late afternoon sun caught on the stray hair of her ponytail and made her absolutely glow. Which, of course, meant that Zelos had to ruin the moment before it got too serious._

" _Heeeey! Check it out, they didn't block off the bow!" he said._

" _They would do that? But it's just a ship!" Lloyd shouted._

_Regal answered, "Sometimes in Tethe'alla, Lezareno ran into problems with people that ventured onto the bow to pretend they're in that one of the popular film. We had a couple fall into the water once, which was all it took to cause some legal trouble, and..."_

" _Ohhh! Regal, what a brilliant idea. But of course you're brilliant, you're the president. Up we go!" Zelos said. Quickly, he ran at Sheena and picked her up over his shoulder._

" _HEY! What the―? Put me down, you jerk! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"_

" _This!" Zelos hauled her up the plank and across the main board of the deck as fast as he could, all the while being beaten by the flailing, angry female. He finally let her go once they got to the bow. "Okay, close your eyes!"_

"― _What, are you crazy? I'm_ not _gonna close my eyes!"_

" _Aw, come on, please? It'll be fun, I promise! Here, here, step onto the railing, I gotcha," Zelos said, smiling. He grabbed her waist and lifted her kicking feet up to the front railing._

" _Zelos! Let go of me―!"_

" _Hold on, hold on!"_

_Zelos tugged on his headband with one hand, struggling to get it out of his long hair. Once he loosed it―in between more buffeting from Sheena's free arms―he managed to get it around Sheena's eyes. Before she could yank it off, he made sure to pinch her side, which sent her into reluctant laughter._

" _There ya go! Settle down, you're flying!"_

" _Ahaha―oh god―Zelos, Zelos, stop, I can't see anything!"_

" _Okay, okay…"_

―WHAM.

Zelos found himself falling onto the stone ground, having walked into someone who was running full-force toward him. How didn't he see that coming?

"Ack! Watch the face, pal!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet. The man who had just run into him had seemingly also fallen.

"Hmph. I would think that  _you_  of all people would pay attention to where he's going," the man said.

"Oh―it's  _you_ ," Zelos remarked. The unwitting redhead from earlier, yes. Except now he knew Richter was Vanguard; but it was best to make him believe he had the upper hand.

"Excuse me, but I do need to get on my way," Richter sneered, combing his hand through his hair.

"Oh? Where to, so quickly?"

"I," he announced, brushing past Zelos, "am looking for something."

"―You  _do_  know who I am, right?"

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

Best to see how far he could network just in case. Perhaps he could be the exception of the Vanguard's hate for Tethe'allans―that was how it worked with the Renegades at first.

"You could say I've got connections. I could hook ya up with anything you could possibly want," he said slyly. "Or anyone."

Richter paused for a moment in thought. "Well, it couldn't hurt to ask you where I could find some rosemary. But why should I trust you?"

"Heh. Why  _shouldn't_  you trust me? You're lucky you ran into me. If you could get some of my people to join your side, you might find yourself among powerful allies."

"… I've already spent enough time in your hometown." Richter kept walking away from Zelos, head down.

"Offer still stands," Zelos called after him. Just before the other man was out of earshot, he added, "By the way,  _nice hair_!" Might wanna try cutting off the mullet part, genius.

Just before continuing on his way, Zelos felt a sharp pain from the Cruxis Crystal in his chest, reminiscent of the pain he felt during the angelification process some ten years ago. He twisted it clockwise in its crest in an attempt to quell whatever it was that was going on. The pain dulled until he glanced back at the dock with the old warship, when it bit once more before disappearing. No more turning back, now.


	5. The Man Who Sold the World

The reflecting five o'clock light bounced across the waves. Though, with the sun at this angle, they seemed nearly mocking as they blinded passers-by. And in a town surrounded by so much water, sunset rendered nearly all aimless wandering defunct.

―Which may or may not have been the very reason Sheena decided to poke around Palmacosta. Blinding-time saved her from running into a few too many familiar faces.

She had sent Orochi back to their traveling base in the caravans outside of town, but with express orders not to contact her until morning. Palmacosta was, after all, a big city, and there were always risks they would take by communicating there. Plus, this was supposed to be her day off.  _Plus_ , the Governess-General Dorr might find some new information at any moment and maybe it would be the urgent kind.

_Right, urgent_ , she told herself.

Strolling along the rickety boardwalk, Sheena began to reminisce about those simpler times two years ago. Lots of memories on this dock. Lots in Luin, too. She saw the Academy across the bridge and thought of Genis's mad day of test-taking. Hah, and the Professor made them all study. Lloyd, he… he completely failed, but it was the funniest thing when they found out. Sheena didn't even care that she did pretty horribly, too.

If only there were some way to contact the Sages. Certainly, they would know the answers to her recent bombardment of questions.

"Chief, the crops can't hold out much longer. When will the rain end?" "Why is Altamira so frigid?" "Will Meltokio work as a center of trade anymore?"

Questions she didn't know how to answer. What frightened her more was her apparent ignorance of the matters. Crops flooded? Temperature shifts? Trade? The Research Academy didn't teach her these sorts of things. Nor did any of them interest her. Being in charge of finding the answers for a neutral, invisible organization proved a little more difficult than she had hoped.

Still, this mission in particular was one that she took for herself. She would be in charge of finding Lloyd. She hadn't seen him since… well, she couldn't remember exactly when, which is to say that she believed it may have been a bitter farewell. Her greatest hope was that nobody had found him yet (because it meant nobody had been close to him when it happened). Oh―both for the safety of her friends and out of a slice of jealousy, she did wish. So far, so good.

A part of her, though, was still haphazard about Lloyd's actions. Well― _whoever_ 's actions, because this was likely not Lloyd. Recent studies in Sybak involved the influx of monsters in the last month or so. With such power in numbers, she didn't doubt that they could temporarily control him. Right?

Until she found out his possible whereabouts, Sheena resigned herself to Sylvarant's harbor town. There was something so calming in the sea air. Every time she smelled it, it was like she was overhearing a private conversation between the sky and the water―like the earth was lulling itself to sleep. Wherever Mizuho decided to set up next, it would have to have at least a river. She was sick of not seeing the open air for being drowned in the rain. It was Mizuho's fault for settling in such a strange location in the first place―she hadn't chosen that location and its curse of precipitation. Maybe, and she let a thought by fleetingly, she wasn't the settling kind.

Which brought her back to the problem of Lloyd. And where was he, and he should have asked Mizuho for help before this situation arose. At least the evening was young and there were enough other spies to deliberate on those matters in her place.

As the sun was slipping past the skyline, Sheena reminded herself not to watch. Bad luck, they said in the village. If you watch too many sunsets, you'll grow old before your time. She turned to leave.

The cloaked figure of a woman startled her from behind as her eyes readjusted. Beside the dock, the woman stood steadfastly looking toward the sun. Now, Sheena tried carefully not to do a clumsy thing like bump into her, but the woman insisted on speaking anyway:

"Leaving so soon, Ms. Fujibayashi?"

Slightly unprepared for the abrupt greeting, Sheena replied, "What?" She blinked several times until the person under the hood became more visible. "―Oh! Oh my goodness, it's you! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize―"

"It's all right. I didn't intend you to." The warm smile of Clara's dispelled any of Sheena's compunctions.

"I, ah, I take it you're undercover?"

"I see plainly that you are not. It makes me wonder why, considering the stakes," Clara said.

Sheena made little shifts from foot to foot and tried placing her hand on her hip―but settled on crossing her arms instead.

"I just figured nobody would be around," she replied.  _Besides, I've done stupider things_.

Clara clicked her tongue. "Oh, don't take it so hard. Normally, nobody's out here. Though, I have to ask, what brings you here without your bodyguard?"

"You mean Orochi? I, uh, wanted to get away just for a little bit. It just so happened to be sunset, so I came here to clear my mind. Whole missing-persons-issue was a little stressful, you know?" she explained. Her idle footsteps brought her to face the early dusk once more. "I guess Marta's being taken care of, too?"

Clara nodded once. "She seems to be. Yes, I was able to hire someone to fend off Alice's troops from her for a while," she replied.

Sheena tilted her head. "Hire? The deal fell through with one of our Mizuho workers? Or… Oh my," she laughed nervously, "I told all my spies to do their work for free…" Clara remained tight-lipped but pensive. "I-I'm sorry for any inconvenience. I thought I had the matter covered. I guess I can't trust everyone. But if you tell me who it was, I can take the appropriate measures."

"Let us not speak about it here―we'll go to my home first," Clara suggested.

Sheena could not refuse, as the horizon would glow dimmer each moment. If she could wait out dusk until the cover of darkness, it would help her mobility. Silently, she nodded and followed Clara across the cobblestone.

The Residence Dorr was now no longer a plush apartment atop the governmental offices. For reasons unknown to Sheena, Clara had burned the contract set by her late husband. Perhaps it was meant to separate her family from obnoxious aristocratic titles that seemed to be the fashion of Tethe'alla. Clara's new home was a few blocks away from her office in a very small shack. Certainly, Clara liked the prospect of anonymity by the sea. In these times, it would be necessary to avoid the unfortunate assassins.

Why, it scared Sheena to think that just two, three years ago that the people being sent to kill figureheads like Clara and Lloyd would be Mizuho―would have been her. How strange, the perspective shifting with new information.

Once inside, Clara did not so much divulge information as tend to old-fashioned candles, tea, and seating while Sheena moseyed in the doorway.

"So, ah… Thank you for allowing me to be in your house, Ms. Governess-General Dorr. I know it's risky for both of us to be in any place at once," Sheena offered.

"It would never be too dangerous. How could I possibly turn away the girl who spoke to the unicorn that would heal me? If not for you… I don't even want to imagine the state of the world," Clara replied warmly. "Please, have a seat."

"Honestly, it's nothing―no need to keep thanking me until I do some actual saving, right?" Sheena smiled sheepishly. She roughly sat on the stool beside a modest table. Though the spot before her was cleared, Clara's side of the table had various papers and newsprint strewn across it. She couldn't decide whether to move them aside or keep her hands to herself.

"And about that―I wanted to tell you who took care of the Marta –Alice dilemma. I believe you're familiar with Tethe'alla's Chosen?"

As the words were being spoken, Sheena found that she had almost known already. There was no conscious effort against the possibility. After all, she  _had_  requested that he help her out. Though, she never wholly believed he would accept the job.

"So he… he went on the mission after all."

"I'll have to admit that when you'd said you would get your team on it, I was not quite expecting him," Clara confessed. She wiped both palms on the sides of her dress as she turned from the stovetop.

"You're absolutely sure, then, that he actually went out there?" Sheena pressed. Somehow she had been sitting on only the front of her stool, which she noticed as she leaned forward in disbelief.

"To be honest," began Clara, "I thought you'd seen him yourself. Why, he should have returned by now, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps he is tending to Thomas at his house?"

"W-well! I'm glad you didn't tell me because I'd been busy anyway. I wouldn't have had time to deal with his… antics."

"When I spoke to him, he actually was straightforward and respectful in his response."

" _Really_ ," Sheena mused, the outer parts of her eyebrows drifting slowly upward. "He didn't hit on you or ask you to tell me this or―or pay you, or anything?"

Clara answered simply, "These days, there isn't time to waste on that."

Letting out a groan, Sheena leaned hard into the crook of her right arm. "Now I just feel confused about all of this…  _all_ of it."

In the background, the slow whistling buildup of the kettle alerted Clara that the tea was prepared. She turned quickly to silence it. "You know," she called over her shoulder, "I'm surprised you would think I would need to take a bribe, but no mind." She carefully placed tea leaves into their strainers and sat them in the china cups to let them steep. "I understand. I can almost feel the way you're so torn up about him."

"T-torn up?" Sheena did not so much feel her face flush as she felt like it was being forced into an enclosed furnace. "Look, I don't want anything to do with that childish Chosen―that's why I sent him somewhere  _else_. I was just trying to make sure I was doing all I could for you and Palmacosta!"

"You're doing plenty. What I want is for you to be able to clear your mind. Simply listen to the way you're talking, Ms. Fujibayashi. Don't you think that in the act of sending him elsewhere you're controlling your knowledge of where he will be?"

Sheena held back a sigh, realizing that though she was a guest, she must―

Well, Clara didn't  _not_  have a point.

"I'm starting to learn that if I want to hold on to any of my friends, I have to boss them around a bit," she spoke. "After all, Lloyd…" She watched Clara remove the strainer from her cup and set it on one of the newspapers lying about. "… Well, I mean, we all know the rumors. I just can't help but think it was my fault for not having kept a closer eye out for him."

With a sigh, Clara admitted, "I was afraid that sooner or later it would come down to guilt."

"You didn't see―?" Sheena blurted. She quickly stopped herself. This was no time for a simple girl like her to be pressing the leader of a continent for details.

"No, please. Continue," Clara pressed.

Sheena could barely hold back the words. "You didn't happen to see Lloyd when―if he was here, did you? Because that would confirm a lot of things for, uh, me, and, well, my mission, if you had…"

Clara nodded, knowingly. "Ah, yes, Lloyd. No, I didn't actually ever catch a glimpse of him, nor of his imposter if that was the case."

It wasn't like Sheena hadn't been expecting that answer, anyway. Still, she couldn't hide the disappointment on her face.

"If it brings any solace, I do happen to know where the Sage siblings are at the moment," Clara said encouragingly.

Sheena jolted in place. "The―the Sages?! You do? Oh my―we've been trying to find them for, for…!" Realizing her rudeness, she bowed her head several times. "Oh, thank you! I'd be so grateful to know where they are. They were so close to Lloyd―they'd have some valuable information!"

"Ha ha, no need to be so polite. I knew you'd want to know."

"Then… what can I do for you in return?" Sheena asked in earnest.

"I don't want anything in return. But I think that for what it's worth, you might consider talking to Tethe'alla's Chosen. I think he'd appreciate it."

Sheena flushed, but pretended not to hear Clara's request. "Right. Uhm. But where can I find them?"

"They'll be in Flanoir by the time you can get there. I'm assuming you'll want to take the night off?" Clara asked.

Sheena thought for a moment. "Well―I had said for my scouts not to contact me tonight, but now that I know this, how can I not relay it to them? I've got to find out what I can from Raine and Genis," she decided. Quickly, she stood from the table and brushed herself off.

"You don't want to at least finish your tea?" Clara pleaded, almost pitifully. It was then that Sheena recalled just how lonely Clara might be without much personal contact.

"… Well, for your tea, Ms. Governess-General Dorr, it would be an insult both to you and the tea itself."

She laughed gently. "Come, sit back down and relax. It's not often that I get to mother someone. Besides, in these times, we need to remember that we are all family, Tethe'allan, Sylvaranti, or otherwise."

Sheena nodded solemnly.

But the moment that she could be free, she had made up her mind to get to Flanoir before dawn.

* * *

So fleetingly it seemed that Zelos had fallen back into his old way of life: petticoats to the left, tails to the right, champagne up and down and far, far too many sweets. Though, he supposed after his last mission-turned-disappointment, he deserved a bit of a break.

Aaaaaall he was trying to do was keep those kids out of harm's way (oh, and rescue some freaky fish man) and out of nowhere, the blond brat started spouting about how Lloyd was a fiendish bastard upon whom they would exact revenge. There was nothing worse than a cocky kid like that, Zelos knew. While he had mostly put up with Genis's antics, Genis hadn't been bringing up a touchy cuss. "Bastard," eh? Really? If they had only known what Lloyd had to go through  _actually_  not knowing his birth father. And, Zelos mused, if only they had been bound to a Cruxis contract not to speak of what they knew of Kratos. There was―so much they just couldn't know.  _So_  much.

So, he got out of there as soon as he could, Thomas and some footmen in tow. When they returned to Palmacosta, they discovered that the town's fishing problems were being brought on by Remoras. Which, brilliant discovery, but Zelos couldn't have cared less. What he cared about involved the glint in Clara's eye and the subtle way she seemed like she was hiding something.

He wanted to stick around for the cleanup of the bay, but Clara dismissed him kindly. But where was he supposed to go, then? "Back home," Clara had advised, as if there was anything interesting or helpful he could do there. As if Meltokio were his home in the first place, anymore.

Despite this, here Zelos stood again amidst a more familiar sea of ignorant fools. It felt wrong to make an appearance even though he knew the hostess almost like a mother. Except, she'd be an incestuous mother, because the Countess had that touchy-feely reputation…

He sighed.

The party was being held in honor of Countess Mercia Rattenmeier's thirty-ninth birthday (though, who was she kidding). It was tradition for Zelos to be invited as somewhat of a guest of honor, as Rattenmeier had always spoiled him with her company during his youth. Luckily, it meant that he would be there on his own terms.

As per request, Zelos had Sebastian and Tokunaga on guard while he and his sister mingled. Normally, Zelos wouldn't have risked having Seles at a party, but who knew. Perhaps starting a trend of upper-class partially-elven blood at this type of event would benefit the community. Also, he both had to attend and take care of Seles. So why not nurture two birds with one Sacred Stone? Until he got news of something else Palmacosta wanted him to do, he was trying to stay away.

At least, until the great mass of ruffles and brocade headed for him like freight craft.

"Yyyyyoung Master Wilder~!" exclaimed the Countess Rattenmeier. Upon spying Zelos, she had begun to grab him in a squeezing embrace. It was all Zelos could do to prepare his ribs for her onslaught. Affectionate woman, she. And did he mention gargantuan?

"Ah―Countess―They don't call you 'Mercy' for nothing, eh?" he squeaked, desperately trying to escape.

Luckily, Rattenmeier released him to better see his face. She laughed boisterously, "Oh ho ho, ever charming, Chosen One."

"Yes, well…" Zelos smirked. He glanced sidelong at Seles, who had stuck closely to Tokunaga near the dessert table. Of course, she hadn't been snacking, but the butler had been prone to the munchies. Which was fine, as Rattenmeier always had something to snack on nearby.

"I'm ever so glad you could come to my birthday party―er, my celebratory salon! Let's not think about my age, now, shall we? Don't want to give away a lady's most precious secret!" Rattenmeier exclaimed. Zelos found himself staring at the gigantic five-tier cake before throwing a charming grin back to her.

"Certainly not. Though, if what they say about only being as old as you feel is true, then you must still be sixteen, eh, Countess?"

This sent her into another giggling fit. Zelos's eyes wandered over to where a musician boy had taken interest in the crepes near Seles. They began to talk to each other, he shyly and she reluctantly, it seemed.

"Ah, I see that my young friend Pacco has taken an interest in your sister," Rattenmeier announced.

"Oh. Pacco, eh? That's the name of that little punk?" Zelos muttered. Now the boy was making a mess of the strawberry syrup, and clearly making a fool of himself in the process. Seles would never fall for such tactless nonsense.

"My, aren't you a defensive big brother!"

"It's my job for now. I mean, she wanted to go to this party to get out a little. I have to make sure nothing bad happens to her, no matter what that entails…"

"Ha, ha, ha. Well, Pacco's a good boy. Can play the harp better than any studied man I know, and he even taught himself! He's disciplined and modest. What more could you ask for in such times?" Rattenmeier said.

Yeah, what more could you ask for, Zelos pondered. Or rather, heard it through one ear, then its shaky repeat out the other. He scanned the room again to try and find an escape from Rattenmeier that wasn't a fangirl-turned-protester from when Seles moved into the Estate a little while back. There were so many nasty-looking faces that he almost― _almost_ ―wanted to leave before Seles.

Luckily, there was a flash of blue from his right. Unmistakably, it marked the hair of one Duke Regal Bryant, former criminal and current president of Lezareno, among other titles of opulence and remark. At the very least, Zelos hadn't seen Regal for quite some time and could use a little familiar conversation.

"My lady, while it pains me to leave you so, I'm afraid I must chat up the Duke about one of the rumors I heard going around involving his company's endowment," Zelos lied.

"Oh, boo. Well, when you're done with your man-talk, I'll be waiting on the dance floor, you charming little thing!" Rattenmeier sang. As quickly as she came, she fluttered away. Well, thank goodness.

Zelos approached Regal with a stiff self-consciousness. It had been some time since they'd seen each other, but a party like this was the last place he had intended to meet. Who knows what sort of deep, engaging things Regal knew about the current affairs of the Wilder household?

"Chosen One!" Regal called upon catching sight of Zelos.

"Ah, no need for that anymore, Regal. Don't want to turn any heads now, do we?" Zelos said. Upon a glance, he saw that people had indeed turned their heads to stare at the so-called Chosen. Amazing how a title could affect anyone's view of you.

"My apologies. I don't mean to cause a scene. I simply want to catch up with an old friend," Regal said.

Zelos smirked. "Oh, right. You don't want to cause a scene. Hey, remember that time you locked yourself in jail because you didn't want to cause a scene and all hell broke loose in the hierarchy trying to figure out who the heir was except you didn't want to renounce your title―?"

"Chosen, you weren't even aware of what was happening at the time. You were still a young child!" Regal laughed amiably.

"Eh, but was I ever, really? It's my job to snoop around and act like I own the place, wherever I am."

"Fun aside," Regal began, slowly stirring the drink in his hand, "how is your sister doing?"

Zelos looked over toward Seles and the boy, Pacco, and saw that they were conversing freely. Hell, if Tokunaga was okay with it, then he was okay with it. But only because Tokunaga was the brawn in this situation; Zelos would not forgive the way they butted heads before.

"She's fine, -ish. You wanna move this somewhere a little out of earshot? Not to be creepy, but there are some things I want to tell you that I don't want other people to know," Zelos offered.

"Why, I would be honored to help you in whatever way I'm able. Plus, I had been worried about the two of you for the last few weeks."

Zelos and Regal moved through the crowds toward the back garden entrance. Luckily, not too many people were outside, and those that were seemed too drunk to safely be indoors around valuables. They headed down the stairs along the path that led to the vegetable garden.

"So, I'm going to assume you've at least read up about this Lloyd nonsense," Zelos said once he was sure they weren't being followed.

"I've been asked to begin a mission―tonight, actually. I've packed some traveling clothes and intend to leave once this is over," Regal answered.

"But you've―" Zelos gestured to the drink in Regal's hand. He realized, though, that it was probably just sparkling water and coloring, a remedy often used by people like them to feign social standards while maintaining their wits. "―never mind. But who got a hold of you? Man, I haven't even seen you for a few weeks and you live down the street."

"… You're joking. Had you stepped outside, you might have encountered some rough danger."

"Yeeeeah, it was kind of rough not being able to get out of the house even if it was only for a little bit. 'Cause you know how I roll."

"Let's not get into your exploits," Regal requested.

Zelos snorted. "Oh,  _please_."  _You haven't realized yet about me and…?_ "Aside from the fact that I'm in a dry spell―rare, mind you―my question involved who ordered you, and perhaps if I'm so lucky,  _where_  said person told you to go."

Regal took a sip of his beverage before replying. "Technically, I'm not supposed to tell you. I shouldn't have even told you that much."

"… because it's obvious that it's Mizuho, whoever it was."

"No need to sound so caustic."

Zelos paused and met Regal's condemning eyes with hesitance. "I―… I know it's not my place to ask. I was just helping them out last night, so I wanted to know if you know anything about the situation. Anything more than I know. Because all I know is that there are a couple a' kids running around acting like they want revenge on Lloyd all of a sudden, and that's unacceptable." He sighed hard and added pathetically, "I also know that Sheena's somewhere nearby, but she told me not to look for her."

"Hm," Regal hummed knowingly. "For your peace of mind, it was Orochi that approached me with my orders this morning."

"… Right."

That didn't console Zelos a whole lot. It didn't tell him where  _she_  could be at this moment, which is what he was starting to worry about. Not that he was the worrying type.

He wondered if Pacco was a half-elf, vaguely.

"There's been some trouble in Izoold," Regal said quietly. "I'm to help, being able-bodied and free from other duties."

"Yeah, I had to save some freaky fish guy. Apparently, he knows all about this weather insanity that's causing havoc in places like Altamira and Flanoir," Zelos said. "And, well, Clara―the Governess-General wanted me to keep an eye on those kids, but like I said, they're out for Lloyd's blood. And I'm not about that. I don't want to be associated with their revenge plot. And while I want to back Lloyd blindly, I know there's got to be some sort of catch to this, all."

"Certainly," Regal said. "I wouldn't think that Lloyd would want to do something like destroy Palmacosta… again."

Zelos laughed a bit, remembering Lloyd and Colette's ability to destroy anything with which they came in contact. "Yeah, woulda thought once would be enough. Generally, he'd get bored of something like that. And―see, that's what I mean. It's not like him."

"Not like him  _indeed_ ―"

"AGH!" Just as Zelos heard Regal speak, there was a pulsating pain emanating from no other than his Cruxis Crystal. He hadn't remembered it being so nauseating, sending daggers through his veins. Augh, it was like nothing he'd felt in a long time. He sank to his knees, clutching his chest. Blood rushed to his ears. It sounded like someone was whispering, "Zelos. Zelos. Zelos…"

So he responded, gasping, "What the―?"

"― _Finally! If you want to know about Lloyd…"_

What was he hearing, and from whom? He opened his clenched eyes to a concerned look on Regal's face. It wasn't Regal, obviously, but Regal's mouth was moving and probably asking Zelos what was going on.

"…  _go to the Tree."_

―The Tree… What tree? Who could possibly―

And just like that, the voice was gone in a jolt of grainy feedback.

So, that entire time his Cruxis Crystal had been burning, had someone been trying to contact him? That was impossible. The only way one could do that would be to have his full mana signature, of which nobody left on the planet knew.

Unless… unless that person had memorized the sequence. They still would have needed to obtain it in the first place. The only people who had access―

_Cruxis_.

But―how―? Mithos was gone, along with all the officers under him. Kratos skipped town on a one-way comet. Yuan―actually, what  _did_  happen to―?

It must have been  _him_ , Zelos concluded. It would only make sense. Martel's spirit still somewhat resided in the Tree, and Martel was all Yuan had left. The only thing not adding up, he noted, was how Lloyd would have been able to reach Yuan at all. Zelos would have thought for certain that Lloyd wouldn't try to run away like that. Also, why would Yuan go to such lengths to contact him via Cruxis Crystal?

He must have still had his connected, too.

In a weak heap, Zelos breathed like it was all he knew how to do. The sky was tinting yellow at the edges above him. If nothing else, he was glad Seles hadn't kept the Crystal in case it leeched off her instead.

―SELES.

With the help of Regal's hand, Zelos got to his feet. He hadn't even realized when he'd fallen, and was greatly discomfited by the fact.

"Chosen, what happened just now? Do you need a healer?" Regal questioned.

"No, no, I'm fine, I need to make sure Seles is okay. Sometimes when my Crystal goes haywire, it affects hers, too. Residual from when I was wearing the spare. You don't know this, but Cruxis liked to contact us through these things," Zelos explained quickly. "Help me get her, help me get her!"

Jogging to a strange vertigo, Zelos made it back inside to see a crowd gathering around the dessert table. His heart could have given out from all the work it took to even beat.

Regal, who had been Zelos's running support, let him stand on his own and assessed the situation.

But, really, what was the other option? Either Seles had been affected, too, or she'd punched Pacco in the face for being too frivolous.

Clearly, it was the former. Zelos elbowed his way through to Regal, who'd taken the other side of Seles. Tokunaga was also beside her. Pacco stood nervously behind them. "Seles!" he called desperately.

Seles had been conscious, but dazed, it seemed. "Big… brother," she said. Her breath was labored and she struggled not to cough.

"Oh, god, what happened to you?" He knelt in front of her and checked to make sure she hadn't hurt anything. Instinctively, he cast a healing spell and held her hand to transfer it to the both of them.

"I don't know unless you tell me what happened to  _you_ ," Seles said.

From outside of the gathering, Countess Rattenmeier appeared with a tray of hand-towels. "Is the girl all right? Oh, my, Chosen One!"

"Please, give them some air," Tokunaga ordered.

Zelos leaned in to Seles and whispered, "Someone was using my Cruxis Crystal to try and communicate with me… through my mana. Again. And they told me I need to go to the Tree."

Seles drew back. "You mean…?"

"Yeah. I've gotta go. Whoever it was couldn't have been a fake. They'd need to have memorized my mana signature. It can't possibly be a trap."

"Will you be okay?" Seles asked weakly.

"I will. Will you?" Zelos asked. He turned to Tokunaga. "Let's get her home, okay? She's not doing too well."

"I'm fine, please!" Seles protested.

"Master Zelos is right. It's your condition, and we need to mind that," Tokunaga chided. "Countess Rattenmeier, you will excuse us, please?"

Rattenmeier nodded and proceeded to escort them from her house.

"So sorry to have to skedaddle. It really was a nice party," Zelos consoled her.

Regal waved to him from the crowd. Poor Pacco was pale as a sheet. But more importantly, Zelos was getting  _out_  of that party and finally about to get something out of this damned Crystal.

The Tree was finally calling him. Well, good, because he was about to give it a piece of his mind.

* * *

Zelos left Seles as soon as he possibly could, making sure that she would have proper care. As a bonus, and because he felt a little like an idiot for this whole situation, he put a note containing a fairly large chunk of money under her pillow which instructed her to buy whatever she wanted with it. Hopefully, she would have the sense to allow him to spoil her.

Of course, Sebastian didn't let him go without a decent meal. It had been some time since Zelos had had a decent, sit-down meal. (Perhaps this was how Sebastian managed to get him to eat beef, despite his previous fervent requests against it.)

Zelos indiscriminately used his wings for most of the transportation there. Not only was it quicker, but it was encouraged by the activity already within his Cruxis Crystal. It was as though his crystal were guiding him there; a direct, singular tug from a thin wire. Like a puppet, he thought cruelly.

Then, as he neared the Tree of Regeneration itself, through the fog and forestry and ruins of a once great tower, he felt a presence. It was confusing and strong. He almost felt like a crowd of people watched his every move.

It became clearer as to why: A cloaked figure sat slumped at the base of the tree, perhaps in meditation. Unmistakably, the figure bore blue hair and slightly pointed ears.

"Yuan. I was expecting… not you," Zelos announced. He vanished his wings and got a nasty chill up his spine.

"I can see how that would be your reaction."

Yuan calmly stood up from his position at the foot of the tree. He seemed calmer, wiser.

"Am I allowed to be angry for a second? Not gonna, I dunno, beat me senseless if I ask something?" Zelos tested.

"No," Yuan replied.

"Okay, because why the hell would you, first, still have my mana signature, and second, use it to try and contact me  _after we discovered how dangerous it was_?!"

"It was the only way. I am not permitted to leave this Tree, nor am I able to contact much of anyone else," Yuan said.

Zelos ran a hand through his hair dramatically. "Look, that's all fine and dandy. I just need to know why you think you need to contact me in the first place. I'm a busy man. And thanks to your little trick, I'm a busy man with a sick sister and a lot of things to sort out. I'm in trouble here."

Yuan's dull gaze revealed his fatigue. "Aren't we all?" he contemplated. "The Tree isn't as strong as it needs to be in its newborn phase of growth. Its guardian… doesn't seem to be quite strong enough yet."

No kidding. Tabatha would have been very fragile in her state of receiving Martel and would take a long time to adjust from being inhabited. But was it really in Yuan's interests to keep himself here? "Ah, still protecting what's left of her, aren't you. A one-woman man to the end," Zelos remarked.

"You could put it that way."

"Well… So… this is awkward," Zelos confessed. "I'm not exactly sure what you're still doing here and moreover, what sort of information you think you needed to contact me for." He wanted to find a place to lean, but all the things that weren't covered in wet moss were rusted and jagged. He settled on looping his thumbs around his belt.

Yuan breathed gently before responding, "Technically, I'm not allowed to tell you much about why you need to be here."

" _Technically_ , I never gave a crap for the technical," Zelos retorted. "You know, you owe me for all those times I got information and covered for you."

"Those days are behind us, Chosen. This is not a personal matter." Yuan turned from him for a moment before beginning again. "This deals with the recent findings of the Summon Spirit Ratatosk."

"The what-who-huh? Speak up, you sound like nonsense."

"Ra-ta-tosk," Yuan repeated calmly. "You might know him better as the rain that drowns the crops, or the heat that destroys Flanoir's environment, or the chill through Altamira."

"That last one's my least favorite, you know," Zelos said. "But I'm going to assume that's why you used it." He drew his arms up to cross in front of him. "The thing is, though, you said Summon Spirit. How is that even possible? How did we not come across this during Regeneration? What's he, the Summon Spirit of weather? Maxwell was responsible for stuff like that."

"He's not weather, Zelos. He's something much more serious."

"What could it possibly be? Sheena took care of everything―she studied  _everything_."

"As you can tell from your little encounter with Origin, perhaps Sheena was not informed of everything. Aside from the fact that she doesn't boast the best record of speed when it comes to assassination," Yuan scoffed lightly, "it's inevitable that none of you has any knowledge of this. Research was conducted at the Great Kharlan Tree during the time that you would have first been roaming about the world. Not to mention the fact that the girl cut her ties with the Academy once she accepted the job."

"Wait. How could we let this slip past us if it's such a major influence?" Zelos asked, brow furrowing.

"That answer is beyond me. Apparently, this Ratatosk controls mana."

Zelos may have staggered a bit. Mana? How can one creature control all the mana in the world―in the  _worlds_? How long had he existed without disturbance? Was it, in fact, the fault of the Regeneration team that it awoke?

"Calm your mind," Yuan instructed. "I can tell even from here what you're thinking."

Damn. He'd been working on that. Lately, he'd been a bit of an open book, and a picture book at that. "Look―If he controls mana, why can't he just stop wreaking havoc? Did we do something to provoke him?" He gesticulated wildly. "Is it maybe because of Lloyd? Because I have no idea where he is right now. I can't be expected to go find an un-findable man."

"I can't ask you to do that. You're right. However, as the situation stands, it seems that Lloyd wants to…" Yuan paused, seemingly torn between what to say. "Ratatosk is… a special Summon Spirit. Being so powerful and influential in the world, he is served by creatures by Centurions. When their master is in danger, Centurions awaken and protect the cores that hold Ratatosk's divine power."

Zelos snorted. "Oh. One a' those. I wonder when this world will stop being infested with tricky histories."

"In this case," Yuan continued, "it means that the cores are divided and hidden―somewhere, each of them. It makes them a little more difficult to gather… alone. But in a group, it would be quite easy."

"Are you hinting that there's a group doing this?"

"The Vanguard," Yuan responded instantaneously. "You hadn't guessed?"

"I knew they were doing something because of Lloyd, but I'm not sure I follow on how this relates. Unless Lloyd's trying to collect them…?" Zelos guessed.

"I can't tell you the answer to that. But what I can say is that there isn't much you can do at this point aside from try to stop the Vanguard," Yuan said.

"Tch. They seem like they could get strangled with a cordless phone, from what I've heard. At least the subordinates."

"I wouldn't disparage them, Chosen. Do you know how many of my men joined after the Renegades disbanded? And I know what they're capable of doing."

"… Yet you still want me to eliminate them. Cruel as ever," Zelos noted under his breath.

"Sometimes, we have to think about the good of the world over our own desires," Yuan countered.

"So, then, what's Lloyd thinking at this moment? Do you know? You've obviously seen him, if you're talking like this."

"… I can't tell you yes or no."

"Yuan, you have to answer the damn question at one point or another if you intend for me to do what you want!" Zelos barked. It was one of the few times he chose to attack Yuan by saying his name. If there was one thing Yuan didn't care for it was being yelled at in that way. It had something to do with the way Mithos used to order him around, if Zelos remembered correctly. Which he must have, clearly, as Yuan recoiled a bit.

"He… asked me about the powers of the cores, which I honestly do not have any knowledge of. Anything more I cannot say," Yuan said carefully.

"… Screw this Guilt of Martel," Zelos commented. He stared at Yuan for a long moment, wondering exactly what sort of contract an immortal man would have to strike with a goddess.

When Yuan finally met Zelos's stare, it wasn't pitiful or saddened. It seemed strangely like he were holding back a sneeze. With all the drama he could muster, he said, " _Lionel_."

Zelos laughed through his teeth. A reference to a long-forgotten word game they used to play based on a Sylvaranti tradition. Thoughin the days before Cruxis had dominated the paganism of the country, saying "Church of Martel" to the wrong person would get you executed. The point of this game was to say a word based on the last letter of the word the other person says. In the interest of the religion, the game would end up in the sequence, "Havoc," "Church of Martel"; and the response "Lionel" would act as the safe word to discuss Cruxis. If "Lionel" was not the response, the other party would be perfectly safe under the game rules.

He only knew this, of course, because of all the odd historical training he had to go through just before his own angelification process. Yuan's suddenly bringing this topic into play was not the most subtle way to get his attention.

"Okay, but let's not play that game. Please. I don't want to remember that part of my life," Zelos said exhaustedly.

Yuan smirked. "You have no idea how relevant it still is to your life, Chosen," he said. "But for now, all you can do is try and curb the Vanguard."

Sighing in defeat, Zelos replied, "I'll do it, but it won't be for you."

"Hey, if you do this it'll be for your own good as well as your sister's."

Zelos turned from Yuan, hardly bothering to end the conversation before shutting Yuan's words out of his mind. As though Yuan knew what was best for anyone anymore.

"Before you go," Yuan called, "Don't give them any information. Don't tell the Vanguard anything. You have something they want and you must deny them it!"

Yuan's words would confuse Zelos. How did Yuan even know what was going on in the world, much less what was best for Zelos? What was best for him was figuring out what Lloyd was really up to. He wondered if that involved siding  _with_ the Vanguard, as it seemed Lloyd and they were striving for the same thing. As long as everyone ended up happy, did it matter what he did or didn't say? Process thrown into the wind.

Through the mist, he walked away from the Tree, in hopes that the visit would quell the tightening feeling from his Cruxis Crystal. Already, its grip felt lighter, the strangling less desperate. He traced his steps back to the edge of the protective barrier around the area, back past the fallen stairs and the bits of tower.

Just before setting his wings to work, he thought he saw a flash of red in the distance. He dismissed it as a mirage of the Tree―

He should have paid attention.


	6. So Tell Me

"You there!" a voice called across a void of fog. Zelos squinted to make out a faint outline―all darkly colored except for a swatch of auburn hair. If not for the lack of wings and holier-than-thou drawl, he would have sworn it was Kratos.

"Yo!" he cried back. "Who's asking for me?"

As the figure approached, he said, "A judge in the night." Finally, he appeared in full as none other than the brattish Richter Abend.

"Oh. You again, huh?" Zelos's left hand migrated toward the scabbard that was tied to his belt. Just in case.

"Where's the Tree?"

The sharpness of Richter's question caught Zelos off-guard. "Excuse me?"

"The Tree," Richter articulated. "You said you could get me favors and I need one. I need to find the regenerated Tree. It used to be somewhere around here, but it's impossible to find."

Zelos's pulse skipped for a moment, the way it used to back in the spying days when he thought he might have forgotten an important detail.

"Or, you could give me your Cruxis Crystal. That could be just as beneficial," Richter continued.

Zelos was stricken with confusion. "Okay, what? Since when do I need to give you anything?"

"You don't  _need_  to do anything. You just ran into me in Palmacosta, and then proceeded not to tell me where I could find rosemary. Or does the Chosen not live up to his reputation?"

Zelos strained his eyes not to roll them. "So, you didn't know anything about me before, but now you do." He crossed his arms casually. "Tell me about the Great Zelos Wilder."

"That's not so hard to do. All I had to do was utter your name to the nearest Tethe'allan woman to elicit far too much information."

Then, Richter crossed his arms as well, Zelos saw across the divide of minimal fog between them. Neither moved to close the distance, but to an imaginary advantage: if either wanted the upper hand in an unexpected outburst, fog would be his best ally. Zelos was hoping that Richter was as cowardly as he looked so they would both be spared.

"You're second in command only to the King of Tethe'alla despite your title's diminishing powers. You're ostensibly toying with the emotions and hormones of every lady on the continent, likely due to your conventional attractiveness―"

"I still don't accept compliments from guys," Zelos interrupted.

"… You exhibit rudeness in the face of those whom you deem inferior, indicating your spoiled lifestyle. But despite this, you have been known to be quite accommodating to those who can offer you something to your benefit." Richter gestured widely to Zelos's throat: the Cruxis Crystal. "If you give me that, I'm certain it'll be to your benefit."

"And again, why do I owe you this? What does it mean to you?" Zelos's eyes flashed briefly.

"What does it mean? I suppose you're foolish, too." Richter tetched at Zelos condescendingly. There was nothing Zelos could do but endure this childish behavior until he got his answer, for he learned that violence rarely elicited information. Especially if the informant ended up dead, which was a definite risk with Richter's exceedingly irksome nature. "This Cruxis Crystal is unique. It's the one meant exclusively for the Chosen of the prospering world. Therefore, it's more powerful than the other Chosen's crystal, and optimal for opening gates to this and that. Plus, I know from my research days that the provenance of this very crystal is… pertinent."

Zelos's brain snapped into place momentarily. It all made sense: why Richter looked so familiar, why he felt off-guard around him for not remembering. "That's why you look familiar. You've been to Meltokio."

"Very good," Richter hummed.

"You worked in the Elemental Lab."

"Also a correct assertion."

"But," Zelos concluded, drawing out the syllable, "I know for certain that you didn't study this Crystal."

Richter's expression changed subtly, though Zelos could hardly see from where he was standing. "That's impossible."

"No, it's perfectly possible. I never worked with you, for one, and even if I did―"

"―the Crystal was somewhere else," Richter finished.

The words chilled Zelos's lungs. Was Richter playing a poker face, or could he actually know about Seles's possession of the Crystal during most of Zelos's adult life?

"―Even if I did, I'm pretty certain that I wouldn't have let a  _guy_  handle it," Zelos retorted coolly.

Almost ignoring his words, the other man continued, "I did, however, get the chance to study this Crystal's 'soul mate,' as it were."

"Tch, you're talking out your ass, my friend." Zelos finally released the grip he'd held on his scabbard, feeling the unsettling moisture of accumulated sweat upon his gloved palm. Act cool.

"Whatever you say. Just realize that, whether you plan for it or not, I'm going to get my hands on either that Crystal or the Tree itself. And it'd be in your best interest to help me next time we run into each other," Richter remarked.

Zelos let his mouth stay shut, let Richter turn with a swirl of his tails and leave into the mist as suddenly as he'd come. If Richter had really just revealed knowledge of Seles's existence, much less her involvement with the Cruxis Crystal, there were a few quick strings that Zelos had to pull. Seles was still back at the estate recovering from her fainting spell back at Rattenmeier's celebration.

The incident begged further speculation now that Zelos had heard Richter mention "soul mates." After all, Seles had collapsed only after he'd felt that pain at the party. And earlier, when she'd been bedridden, Zelos had been having flashes of similar pain. The two of them had shared that Cruxis Crystal for some years, but that wouldn't explain the soul mate magitechnology Richter implied. Could it have been something larger, something grander than just switching Exspheres?

* * *

Upon Zelos's return to Meltokio, he was exhausted. It was as though he hadn't slept in an eternity, but he supposed that the fuzzy environment of the Valley of Martel had something to do with that. After all, what did he know about eternity? Likely another effect of the Crystal. Zelos almost wished he had given it to Richter. The soporific effects alone might have stopped the madman's quest. It was all Zelos could do to drag himself home through his usual back route.

But Richter seemed to be a more determined man. Accordingly, Zelos felt equally determined to gain some background information on him. And moreover, he needed to investigate the meaning of Richter's words. It would be the Elemental Lab as soon as he could muster the strength.

First, however, he would check in on Seles.

Creepy as it seemed to break into his own house, the security measures that Tokunaga and Sebastian devised rather demanded the procedure. Zelos followed the route around the hedges and found the loose screws on the northern back fence. And luckily, the usual swarm of gossipers had disappeared during the late hour of the night.

Once he'd crawled up the trellis and into the second-story window, Zelos quietly stepped toward Seles's room. The rising sun had already crept through the crack under her door. No sign of an obnoxious Tokunaga, who was probably off being useless somewhere in the kitchen. Or concocting nefarious plans with the Pope's followers in the underground passage. Did it really matter at this point?

A light rap on the door preceded his entrance into his sister's room. Seles, already awake, sat propped up like a doll on her luxurious bed.

"Nice of you to stop by," she quipped, her voice tired.

"I do what I can. How long have you been up?" Zelos closed the door without a sound before taking a seat again on the heel of her bed.

She smiled gently. "Not long."

"Sure, if you count since I've been gone not-long. And I don't, 'cause I know exactly how long that is, and it's, like… way too long."

"You can go to bed, y'know. It's okay now. You took care of what you needed to do, and the angry masses aren't waiting to kill us."

"That… doesn't explain why you're still restless, even though you're sick," Zelos commented. "I mean, you haven't done anything strenuous, you'd passed ou―Wait a second. Seles."

"Mm?"

Zelos shifted, drawing one leg up onto the bed. "Did… Do you remember when you were younger… Was there ever a time…"

"Okay, I may be tired, but this is ridi―"

"No, I'm not sure what I need to ask. This sounds unreal, but I ran into this kind of kooky guy earlier and… well, he seemed to know something about Cruxis Crystals," Zelos stammered.

"Why on earth would that come up in spontaneous conversation?" Seles pondered.

"You meet a dashing, masculine guy with legendary red hair one day in the woods? It's likely that he's the Chosen. It's also likely that his sister is the girl with the Exsphere drama."

Seles rolled her eyes. "Am I out for the Chosen's blood?"

"You know, you probably are. So what you then say is, I want that Cruxis Crystal of yours."

Seles stared back at him silently.

"This is the part where you say, 'I want that Cruxis Crystal of yours.' Just like that," Zelos emphasized playfully.

"I'm not saying that."

"Okay but if you  _did_ , then of course I'd say 'No, foul sir, and wherefore would you want such a thing?' and you'd say back 'Because I've studied its soul mate.' You get the idea. Pretty creepy, plus I've never heard about any Exsphere having a connection to another; only to the wearer."

"You act," Seles began slowly, "as though I'm a researcher and know anything about the matter. Big brother, all I know is that sometimes I experience withdrawal symptoms. No weirdo has ever taken either Crystal from me while it was in my possession. So maybe every Exsphere has a mate somewhere. Maybe yours suffers because the other is gone. That's the only thing that would make sense to me since the entire stock of Exspheres is being forcefully disintegrated. And maybe that's why they don't want me to have one at all."

"That's a surprisingly astute observation, kiddo. But where would a Cruxis Crystal get a soul mate? Wasn't I born with it in my hand?" Zelos questioned.

"You're asking me this and I wasn't even there. I think that's a big stupid lie. How can something that's supposedly passed down through generations wind up in a mother's womb? Do dead people form there?" Seles shot back sarcastically.

"If this is a 'your mom' joke, then BOY do I have one for you."

"Stop it, Zelos. I don't have the strength to deal with you when you're like this."

"Tch," he huffed, then all but launched himself onto his feet. "Fine, fine, I'll go do important things. But tell ya what." He turned on his heel to look back at her. "If you can get yourself to sleep, I'll buy you something shiny. Okay? Anything you want. Just get some rest," he promised.

"Fine. I couldn't buy that one thing I wanted with the paltry amount you left me just now," Seles resolved. She sunk back into her bed a little. "Bye, dork of dorks."

"Uh-huh."

When quietly opening the door to exit, Zelos was less than surprised to find, out of seemingly nowhere, the elusive Tokunaga leering at the doorframe outside.

"Oh! Tokey, my man," Zelos greeted with forced joviality as he turned the knob. "Hey, I have something for you. Well―not really for you, it's going to be for Seles. But you're going to take her our shopping, okay?"

Tokunaga's solemn face clenched. "I don't believe that the lady is ready for being out in the open air."

"Aw, nonsense. You're her bodyguard, remember? You've got it covered. And she wants shiny. I'm pretty sure of it," Zelos dismissed. "Let her go into the best jewelry shop in town and pick out something nice. I'm giving you a blank check to pay for it, straight from my account. No questions asked. Just make sure she has a nice day."

"… As you wish, Chosen One, but do remember…"

"No buts! And no butts unless they are shiny and Seles pays for them with my money."

Tokunaga sighed as Zelos strutted down the hallway to retrieve his checkbook.

* * *

After both Wilder children had gained solace from proper rest, Seles was ready to get some sunlight and Zelos anticipated his trip to the lab. When the three of them―Seles, Zelos, and Tokunaga for Seles's protection―left the estate, they were fairly surprised to see that no more than the usual nobles were passing by. It either meant that they were achieving their previous normalcy or that something riotous was bound to be happening nearby. The three of them took a slow pace down the grand staircase, then Tokunaga guided Seles to the right, and Zelos took the left at the very bottom.

There was always a slight risk when Zelos headed down toward the peasant quarter of town. For one, even though many laws and edicts issued by the King of Tethe'alla had nothing to do with Zelos, Zelos was regularly slandered as a passive bystander. Normally, these peasants didn't have access to his person. The second he stepped near the peasant quarters, he could be in physical danger. But he'd go it alone and trust the Cruxis Crystal to take care of the rest. Oh, and the sword. That was a pretty crucial form of protection.

Armed as he could be, Zelos headed past the inn and into the enclave that housed the Elemental Research Laboratory. He sauntered through the big double doors and to the counter where he expected to see a cute-faced receptionist. Instead, he was met with a man in his forties looking very interested in a catalog of mechanical parts. He stopped short of his signature cocksure smolder.

"Yo, my man! Where's the, uh, girl receptionist that used to work here?"

The man did not flinch in his interest for the magazine. "Doesn't work here anymore."

"Okay, well, I need a favor and I'm pretty sure she'd remember me enough to oblige. Anyway, I was with the Regeneration team and I need to know… Did you ever have a researcher named Abend? Richter Abend?"

"I don't do favors for your kind," the man sneered. Zelos looked him up and down, confirming the grudge the man had against him so early in their acquaintance. He was a half-elf―typical fare for the Labs in Tethe'alla, but nothing Zelos wasn't used to by now. But that he, the Chosen, should be spoken to in such a manner… well, he began to suspect that he would have deserved it with his past reputation of half-elf slander.

"Neither do I. Oh. Except that law I'm trying to pass about equality of Exsphere use for half-elves. Now, really, I guess I don't want a favor. I just want information," he bargained.

"I suppose you would, coming to a research lab," the man said dryly.

"Would you just hear me out? I need to get this information passed on to one Sheena Fujibayashi."

Finally, the man disregarded the catalog on the table and looked up slowly. "Sheena? What are you doing associating with her?"

Obviously, this guy hadn't been up on the news. Aside from the fact that Sheena was in the tabloids because of Zelos's fan base, Lloyd's group had been there just two years ago with both Zelos and Sheena in the party. There were plenty of reasons they'd associated. How could someone working in a  _research_  lab be incapable of finding reasons for two powerful figureheads to 'associate?'

But invoking Sheena's name was the only tried-and-true method of getting what he wanted out of people that didn't necessarily support his status. No matter how much it hurt to think about, he'd do it for his own means. "Trust me, sometimes, I don't know either. Women. Ah! But the point is, she's out on some scouting missions for the Tethe'allan Mizuho Information Network. Whether she knows it or not, this Abend character is on her trail. I need to know his story. Her life could be in danger," he guessed.

"I don't know why it would be. Richter also studied Summon Spirits."

Zelos had the feeling that he was about to be, suddenly, very wrong. "When was that?"

"About the time of the Regeneration."

"So, Sheena would have been gone for at least a handful of months when he was here, right?"

"He did work for a few years concurrently with her presence here, but the bulk of his study occurred during that time when Sheena was absent."

"No wonder―I'll bet she has no idea what became of his research."

"Not many do."

"Do you?"

"I have already given you more than enough, Chosen One."

"I beg to differ. I don't understand what's so bad about Richter Abend. See―even when I say it, you get a look on your face that screams, 'There's a reason why I'm ashamed of him!' … So, what is it? Hm? Experiment gone wrong? It couldn't possibly be just the fact that he's a half-elf―you are, too. But that he was a half-elf and did something to sully the name, perhaps? Gee, you're not giving me much to work with. Could it be blackmail?"

"You will want to ask Rilena about the matter," he said bluntly, shuffling through the three actually-important documents on the desk.

"Ooo, that sounds like a chick's name. Is she pretty?" Zelos goaded.

"She's a human."

"Your point being? Okay, so I'll go ask her, but what's her relation to Richter?"

"It's not Richter," a voice quietly entered. A female lab tech with delicate, telltale pointed ears approached Zelos from the staircase.

"So, are you this magical Rilena I've been hearing so much about?" Zelos questioned, ever-so suavely as usual.

The girl blushed a shade of red most uncomplimentary to her fuchsia-silver hair. "N-no, I just work here, but I know about what happened. Nobody likes to talk about it," she mumbled.

Zelos took her timid hand in his and kissed it venerably. "If you wouldn't mind sharing a slice of that dark little past, I'm sure I could find some time to spend with such a lovely girl as you." He almost tripped over his words for being still out-of-practice. Looking back, those lines sounded ridiculous, didn't they?

"I-I don't want anything in return. It's just important that the Chosen One knows about this." The girl glanced behind her shoulder, then back at Zelos, who was busy being proud of the fact that at least  _someone_ around here knew who he was. "Please, follow me down the stairs."

"Well, what is it, my sweet scientific lass, if it isn't about Richter?" Zelos prompted as the two of them took route.

"Don't speak this name around here," she said, "but, it's… Aster. Keep following me."

"And who might this person be?" Zelos continued, careful not to mention the name as they neared the crowded hallways below.

"This person― _he_ ―was a human that used to study with our group. And he was very good friends with Richter―who's a half-elf, you know," she explained.

"Mhm." Zelos nodded.

"Well, it was very odd that they should be associating with each other to begin with, but we all thought, what with the newer laws, it might be okay to trust the humans again. And so they began to study Summon Spirits together after Ms. Sheena left."

"―You, ah, you knew Sheena?" He didn't notice that he had paused his walking until she urged him on past a few white-coated scholars.

"Only briefly, Chosen One. I was young when she left."

Better young than 24, ain't that the truth, Zelos thought to himself. "Ah―continue." The girl led them toward a corner with little traffic and a conveniently awkward column.

"Very well. Um―you see, this part is difficult. I don't know exactly what was going on, but Ms. Rilena naturally grew very fond of Aster, and he began to show an interest in her studies as well. It was very normal, their both being human and all. But if Aster went out to study with Ms. Rilena instead, Richter would lock himself in the dark elemental lab for hours."

"So he was getting jealous of less airtime. Was it an issue of prejudice?" He had a fleeting thought about how much these workers were paid.

"N-no, Chosen One, I'm afraid…" The girl lowered her head and her voice. "It is another matter of which we should not speak. It most disgraces my kind."

"Your kind, huh? Are you aware that I have one of your kind for a sister, whom I love very dearly? I'm not gonna judge you based on one guy's mistake, no matter what it is." Zelos resisted the urge to put a hand on her shoulder. Not that it would cross a line with Sheena, but if he did so it would make her question his reputation. And, well, things being how they were, reputation was important.

"Some say that Richter was overly  _fond_  of Aster, if you get my meaning. That he pursued him in a way that was unnatural to a friendship. So that's when―"

"Hold the phone. One second, here. For real? Richter's…?" Zelos could not conclude the thought. It seemed a bit unfair. He was nobody to judge the flamboyancy of others, having done a number of questionable things in the past.

"I do not know the details, Chosen One, I apologize."

"Nah, it's not you, it's just―wow, I didn't see that coming? Now I'm  _really_  glad I told him―… Y'know what, never mind. Point is, whatever, cool. What's the rest of the story, now? Why's he so mad, and what did this Aster do to the guy?"

"H-he, well, they, the two of them, Richter convinced Aster to conduct research about the physical Tree's Summon Spirit, which was something no researcher had done before. And that's when it happened."

"Don't leave me hanging, here, doll! This needs follow-up."

"I can't believe you, of anyone, don't know this, Chosen One. The incident with the Tree? Ratatosk?"

Zelos glanced sidelong, looking for a clue from any of the wandering eyes of interns and staff. But if the situation were that menacing, he would have been briefed years ago already. He'd be off the hook either way.

"Not ringing a bell. I'm gonna guess the guy who was supposed to tell me fell victim during some part of the Regeneration aftermath," he replied. The girl gawked in disbelief. "Aw, come on, don't fade to black on me, here," Zelos further prompted.

"Right―sorry. I shall get on with my meaning. The two of them, Richter and Aster, went to research the Summon Spirit Ratatosk at its likeliest location. And when they were able to come in contact with it, the Spirit was enraged at Aster for his impertinence of asking questions regarding the fate of mana, so Ratatosk… he ended Aster's life."

Zelos wanted to feel nothing at that statement. Plenty of people were killed because of the Regeneration, and if he was going to dwell on it, repenting would take beyond a lifetime. But… it was a Summon Spirit. No matter how he tried, it would always trace back to the Temple of Lightning, and having to see Sheena's face when Corrine died. The wrath of a monster with the power of a god was never fortunate.

"Musta sucked to see the one you care about the most get nixed," he said as evenly as possible.

"We can only assume. Richter was so upset that he… he forsook us here for his own research, beyond what we were capable of entertaining," the girl explained. "That's the whole truth that I'm aware of."

"Well," Zelos said, placing his hands on his hips, "thank you for your honesty. Seems like I can't get information out of people as freely anymore." He sighed and looked toward the stairs.

"But you… you helped Kate," the girl said quietly. For the first time, she was able to look into his eyes without meekly turning away.

"Nah, it's no big deal. I… I just wanted to impress people, you know? I wasn't even thinking about the political situation at first. Besides, with me, it's always about some girl, right?" he dismissed.

And being so about the girls, his thoughts turned to his sister, who would likely be on her way back home just then. He should try to intercept her, he thought. Politely, he asked for the name of the half-elven girl who had explained all this to him (it was Geeta) and promised his return in the near future to thank her again for her kindness. Perhaps next time he'd visit the Lab, it'd be with Sheena.

Just out into the daylight again, Zelos blinked to readjust to the bright sun. And then, so caught off-guard, was immediately forced to the ground by some kid running and not paying any attention to where they were going.

Recovering from his fall, Zelos shouted after the culprit: "Excuse you―" And then the swatch of cloth around the running kid seemed to snap something into place in his memory. "It's  _you!_ "

That Emil brat from earlier in the cave, and Palmacosta… Well, it made sense. Every moron in the world ended up in Meltokio at some point or another. Zelos briefly entertained the idea of commissioning a plaque and making that the city's new motto.

"Zelos Wilder!" Emil exclaimed.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he remarked sarcastically. "Never expected to see you in my neck of the woods."

"W-we don't have time for that! Lloyd kidnapped your sister," Emil wheezed, out of breath.

This was just turning into a  _bundle_  of fun. "What are you talking about? Do you even know my sister?"

"It's true!"

"Don't be the kid that cries Cruxis. You've gotta be jok―"

And then beside him a flash of red, followed by a horribly stale smell, followed by… petticoats?! That couldn't possibly be… his sister, slung over Lloyd's shoulder… could it?

"Lloyd…?" He turned to verify the guess. But in a split second, the character was gone. Regardless of whether or not that was Seles―which it may have been, but he didn't see the girl's face―his gut told him that the man in red who looked just like his friend moved in an entirely different manner. Even with a year's separation or so, he couldn't have changed that much. This seemed like the Derris Emblem illusion all over again.

"Come back here! Damn it! I almost had him!" Emil shouted, and jumped as though to follow. Before he could take a step further, Zelos grabbed his shoulders and forced him to stay put.

"You're saying that was Lloyd?"

"Of course! Do you use your eyes or are they just for decoration?"

Zelos smirked, thinking of how Genis used to say things like that in his cocky kidlike manner. "Don't make me laugh. There's no way that was Lloyd."

"You idiot! Your sister's been kidnapped!" Emil's temper spared no desperate language.

"Don't get your britches in a bunch, kid. Lloyd wouldn't do something like that to Seles," he explained. She'd likely go with him willingly, he thought to himself. Plus, Tokunaga would have had to be knocked unconscious for Seles to be taken, the way he fawns over her. Rather than explain this to Emil, Zelos decided it was best to head back to verify his suspicions.

"Where're you going?" the boy called.

"Home. If someone's gone to all the trouble of kidnapping Seles, I'm sure they left me some sort of message." After a thought, he added, "You can come, too. You wanna see Lloyd, right?"

* * *

While Emil took the stairs up at a bit faster pace than Zelos's leisurely walk, the pair made it to the mansion within ten minutes. At the door, Sebastian greeted them with apprehension (and Tokunaga, pretty much synonymous) in plain view.

"Master Zelos! Seles has been―"

"The kid already filled me in."

"And," Sebastian added sadly, "the window on the second floor will need repairs."

"Aw dammit," Zelos groaned. "Had to pick the most expensive window to break, didn't he. Y'know, maybe it actually COULD be Lloyd."

Tokunaga piped up, "How could you be thinking about windows at a time like this? Lady Seles has been spirited away!"

"Y'know, it's sort of ironic," Zelos mused, completely understating the panic in the other man's voice. "You'd think I'd take Seles's kidnappings more seriously. I didn't even know she'd made it home yet."

"E-excuse me," Emil said quietly toward Zelos. At this point, he figured anything could come out of the kid's mouth, from a question to why he said "kidnappings" with the plural emphasis to a cutthroat insult. Instead, when Zelos reluctantly turned his attention, Emil continued, "I don't think that's the proper use of the word 'ironic.'"

"… I guess nobody wants to hear the story behind why I said kidnappINGS."  _Never mind the fact that I graduated top of my class and actually know what irony is. Let's just assume things about Zelos. Let's just let the cute kid get all the airtime._

"Neither of which would have happened if you'd just kept your eye on her," Tokunaga grunted.

"Oh, come ON. If we're going to play the blame game I'm pretty sure her GUARD―"

Sebastian, sensing the ever-present tension between the two, interjected with, "Duke Bryant and Miss Sheena are currently out looking for Lady Seles." Well, at least it would redirect the Chosen's anger.

"Regal and…  _Sheena_?" Zelos clung to the expression on Sebastian's face for an answer. Sheena had been there in the house perhaps moments before? Gee, now he regretted learning about Richter's stupid past. Certainly, if they found Seles blocks away―likely, knowing their combined efficiency―then she'd be back and he could see her...

It almost seemed like Sheena didn't actually exist, he'd relegated her to such a mythical position. Everyone talked about her, had evidence of her, but Zelos had yet to see her with his own eyes. This would be the sign, the shining moment.

"So, I should… I should go," he realized quietly.

Just then, the young girl with pigtails―Marta? Marta.―burst through the door.

"It looks like Lloyd's already skipped town―oh…" Her demeanor changed entirely when she spied Emil standing there as well as the butlers.

It seemed as though Emil changed to a more heightened awareness as well. Or, at least that's what Zelos told himself when he saw the boy looking disgustingly lovey-dovey into Marta's eyes and saying, "Marta…"

"Emil…"

_Oh god, skewer me with a Cruxis blade_. Zelos was determined to be useful. "Sebastian, I need you to tell me exactly what happened," he ordered.

"Well," Tokunaga chanced, "I was the one who witnessed it, Master Zelos." He continued rather sheepishly, though it was an act on behalf of the innocent young lady who had just entered. "I had presented Lady Seles with an exceptional gem called the Glacies. I had just been explaining its origins when it happened. Sir Lloyd suddenly came in through the window. He grabbed Lady Seles along with the gem, and escaped."

"You mean Lloyd has Glacies' Core?" Marta questioned.

"I'm sorry, Marta. If I only caught him…" Emil gazed wistfully at her, then vengefully at Zelos. Brat.

"So there's been no word from Lloyd?" Zelos confirmed.

Sebastian stepped in before Tokunaga could answer. "We have yet to hear anything."

That verified the suspicions bubbling around in Zelos's head. Lloyd was both too honest and too dumb not to leave traces of himself especially in the tidy Wilder mansion,  _especially_  since everyone in the house knew Seles had a thing for Lloyd.

"That's weird," Zelos muttered.

"What's so weird about it? Lloyd's after all of the cores," Marta said plainly. Clearly, Marta had no knowledge of anything regarding who Lloyd Irving was or could be. The girl only cared about the cores. But the problem was assuming that that was his goal.

"Then why would he go to the trouble of kidnapping Seles? I'm telling you, that's not Lloyd," Zelos stated.

Emil began to whine again. "You're wrong! It was Lloyd! I saw him with my own eyes!"

"What would  _you_  know about Lloyd, anyway? You really think he smells like that?" Okay, it was an odd thing to say, but that was the first thing Zelos remembered about the run-by, and his Cruxis history taught him that smell is a powerful tool. For instance, if he would have had to conceal his agency in a Sylvarant human ranch, he would scarcely be able to for the smell of death and crystal construction.

"Smell?" Marta said.

"Yep. When he ran by me there was this horrible stench. I thought I was gonna pass out. Lloyd's never been the sort to wear cologne. And even if he was, he'd never put on something that putrid." The group paused after the assessment. "What, just because it's weird to remember smell?"

Emil, disregarding Zelos's self-centeredness, replied, "Now that you mention it, it did smell a bit familiar."

A light went on in Marta's eyes. "Was it Eau de Seduction?"

"That's it! Wait, that would mean Decus… was disguised as Lloyd?!"

"Hey. You guys want to enlighten the rest of us as to what you're talking about?" Zelos urged. He had a slight remembrance of the name "Decus," but where was it from? He took a seat on the couch and extended an inviting gesture to the kids but neither sat.

"Well, you see," Marta began. "So there's this Summon Spirit named Ratatosk―"

"I actually know about that part. With the cores and the mana and the destruction." Marta was about to say something, but he continued quickly, "Don't question it. I have some insiders. But what about… was it 'Decus'?"

"Yes, he's a nasty man under the orders of nasty Alice, who runs the Vanguard."

"The Vanguard! That's it. That's where I know him from. My darling Marta, whether you believe it or not, I've actually come across this name before. Sebastian, do you happen to have that article from about a week ago?"

Sebastian nodded and disappeared into the hallway.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Marta said.

"On the contrary. I've gotta read it sometime."

"But we're in a hurry!"

"So just tell me this then: Decus, he has the power to disguise himself?"

"Yes," Marta answered. Emil remained quiet. "And he's definitely out to get the cores. They all are…"

"Then there's a good chance the "Lloyd" we saw was actually this Vanguard guy Decus in disguise," Zelos concluded. Just then, Sebastian emerged with the requested newspaper.

Emil quietly added, "Judging from that smell, it can't be anyone BUT Decus."

"All right, come with me for an audience with His Majesty," Zelos instructed. "Sebastian, hold on to that paper for me when I get back. And… let Regal and Sheena know when they come back. If they come back."

"Understood," Sebastian said.

"An… audience?" Emil turned to Marta for an answer.

"The house of Wilder is second in status only to the royal family," Zelos said exasperatedly. "We have to report this immediately. Let's go."

* * *

In another flurry of action, Zelos's party followed him to the castle. Marta seemed amazed at its proximity to the mansion. Emil seemed amazed that it was real at all, and that it was so beautiful, since to him Tethe'alla was just the enemy, the enemy, the enemy.

To his surprise, Zelos was let in without pause. Perhaps relations with the King had not been so fantastic in the past, but with such a dire situation, Seles was property of Tethe'alla, and property of Tethe'alla was not to be used as a bargaining chip to the world. Marta and Emil followed Zelos's lead by kneeling in the grand hall before the King and his daughter, Princess Hilda. But in the silence before the King spoke to them, the presence of numerous guards―more than usual―made even Zelos nervous.

"Zelos," the King began, "Chosen One. I'm told that Sir Bud of Sylvarant has kidnapped Seles."

He noticed the vitriolic tone with which the King had said "Sylvarant." He had to choose his words wisely. Wars had been started for lesser things than poor word choice.

"To be more accurate, Your Majesty, she was taken by an imposter of his. We believe the Vanguard may be involved."

Emil, positioned slightly behind Zelos, reached out and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, why do you call him 'Bud'?"

Zelos rolled his eyes, not only at the question, but at the manner in which it was asked. The kid wasn't really making a case for a civilized Sylvarant. "Because he's my bud."

The Princess had noticed the bizarre tapping and spoke, "You say those barbarians who call themselves the Sylvaranti Liberation Front committed this crime?! How awful."

Zelos would have missed the sour (jealous?) expression on Marta's face if he had not turned around at a soldier's entrance to the closed hall.

"Your Majesties, Duke Bryant and Sheena Fujibayashi of Mizuho have arrived."

Before Zelos could open his mouth, the King said, "I would speak with them."

Oh no. Oh, no, no, no.

Zelos felt a pang of adrenaline kicking inside his chest. It nauseated him. He had hoped Regal at least would know not to follow them to the castle where he would surely meet Sheena. If the meeting were in his own house, he would feel far more powerful and conducted. But here he was, kneeling before royalty and expected to remain calm. He had to keep his head forward.

He heard the footsteps behind him, the reopening and closing of the heavy doors.

Part of him wanted to make a public deal of it. She couldn't refuse his attention, in that case. The other half knew that the situation with Seles and, y'know, the  _world_  was much direr, and blah, blah, blah. Sometimes being a figurehead got too much in the way of his personal life. Conversely, sometimes being too much in his personal life got in the way of his being a figurehead.

The King's voice brought him back to reality. "It seems matters have become quite grave."

"Your Majesty," Regal said in his ever-calm voice, "we come bearing new information about the current situation."

Zelos began to look peripherally toward where he knew Regal and Sheena were standing. He couldn't quite get himself to turn around, though.

Then, she said something. "Scouts from my village reported seeing a Rheaird overhead, flying east."

Springing up from beside Zelos, Marta exclaimed, "East of here… That could be the Cape Fortress!"

"Marta…" Emil seemed to chide in a whisper. Zelos could feel the eyes of everyone in the room turning to the young girl.

"The Vanguard has a base in Cape Fortress."

"Sooooo, Marta," Zelos cautioned. "How do you know something like that? And more importantly, why didn't you share this earlier?"

"Well…"

Barely above a whisper, Zelos said, "Former?"

The King rose from his throne and bellowed, "A former member of the Vanguard?!" Every sword in the room ssshhhhing-ed in action to point at Marta.

Emil then stood abruptly. "Stop, please! Marta has nothing to do with the Vanguard anymore!"

Finally, Zelos was the last one kneeling, so he gave up the position to argue his point. There wasn't much decorum left in the hall anyway. "And right now my sister's life is more important. Put away your weapons!" Ordering around the help was pretty much the only way he could feel like he  _wasn't_  floundering. Once the soldiers abandoned their swords, he continued, "So far, the Vanguard hasn't made any attempt to contact me regarding my sister's kidnapping. Which is why I suspect they've abducted Seles in order to get to Lloyd, rather than me."

"Because the Vanguard's after the cores," Regal concluded. Zelos thanked the intellect of the man for following his meaning. It felt like Regal was the only one on the same page as him sometimes. "They would want to trade Seles for whatever cores Lloyd may have. Of course, it could have been a coincidence. Perhaps the abductor had intended solely to steal the core and realized the Chosen's sister may be a powerful bargaining chip."

Marta said something, but it was of little consequence to Zelos, who had been contemplating the cruelty of such an act.

"Your Majesty, we'll need to infiltrate the Vanguard's base. Should our plan fail, I would request that the royal army prepare to take up the search for Seles," he said.

The King was about to respond, but Sheena butted in before he could acquiesce. "No need, your Majesty. I've already asked my people to start a search, and they are very thorough," she said quietly but firmly.

Typical thing for her to do, Zelos said. Those nosy Mizuho spies and their esoteric network. But he could hardly begrudge her quick reaction to the problem. There was a time when Seles and Sheena were even on speaking terms, which was nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps it was that lingering affection that would provide her motivation.

"Excellent," the King replied. "But Chosen One, shouldn't you consider staying behind in the city?"

* * *

Zelos wasn't going to miss this, and he certainly wouldn't want to trust Marta, who revealed herself to be of Vanguard ilk, to be the one retrieving his sister. There were very few things he could control, but this was one of them, and he was going to stay on top of it.

So here he was, obnoxious teenagers in tow, Regal in the lead, somewhere around them that loquacious cat, and of course, right beside him, Sheena.

What to say… what to say? He couldn't go on without acknowledging her. But neither could he trust his mouth not to betray him. For better or worse, he needed to say something that he knew she would respond to.

"So, Sheena, it's nice to see you've been keeping that sumptuous body of yours in top shape," Zelos remarked as Emil trounced down the stairs far in front of them. He scarcely glanced at her profile in saying so. The statement wasn't false, at least.

"Nice to see you  _still_  can't have a conversation without slobbering over breasts," she shot back at him. He kept walking beside her, unable to look her in the eye. And didn't she just know how to hit him where it hurt.

Maybe she could take it as a compliment every once in a while. Maybe she could hear the exaggeration in his own voice for what it really was: that silent seeking admonition of, Thank god you're all in one piece, unhurt and alive; Thank god you weren't trying to hide a souvenir from all those weeks ago. Then, what had he hoped, deep down?

The edge of a whisper in his mind echoed with disappointment. What if she had shown up a little thicker around the waist? Would he even remember enough to notice? Or, would he, daresay, wish it? Not upon her, exactly. But perhaps in his honor, in his stead. That she would be so confused and embarrassed to leave him for being with child was an incredibly potent remedy to his misgivings about why she left him in the first place. Except, how could it be true when he knew she intended to find Lloyd? She wouldn't push that on  _him_.

But seriously―What If? He could drown in the possibilities. Wouldn't it prove him right, wouldn't it prove him  _better_ , wouldn't it prove she wasn't as crazy as she seemed?

Just as Zelos realized he'd ended up staring at Sheena for a long moment, Regal threw himself into the conversation: "The Chosen is the very image of consistency."

Consistently getting beaten not the thousands of women he could woo with a single glance, but by the one that, no matter how he tried, would always get away. Good call, Regal.

"You haven't changed yourself, Regal," Zelos snapped back. If anyone, Regal had been the most predictable in terms of where his alliances were. Noble this, Lezareno that, let's-go-to-prison. Although, despite the fact that Zelos could trick everyone he knew into thinking all he cared about were shallow things,  _Zelos_  was the shallow one.  _Sure_. Perhaps he was thinking about this too much.

"Chosen, we saw each other a few days ago at the Countess Rattenmeier's salon," Regal reminded him. As if Zelos would forget a thing like that. It was the whole reason he had to hurry and get Seles. Stupid party making her ill. Damn it, if they didn't go faster, she could collapse again without any healers around. What if her captors didn't know about her condition? Would they have Exspheres…?

"Where he was checking out the Countess's aristocratic curves, no doubt," he heard Sheena add acerbically. Though, he might forgive her for Rattenmeier's reputation. There was no way she could know that Rattenmeier―"Fattenmeier"―just had more in the manner of flesh in general. For the record, it was cute that Sheena didn't realize that Zelos's type looked a little less like a fertility statue and a little more rough around the edges. And prone to violence.

"Oh, do I detect a note of jealousy?" Zelos cajoled. "See, it's funny because of how involved she is with music, Rattenmeier. Get it?  _Note_?"

Sheena only glared back at him, her palm sweeping dramatically up to her forehead.

"What? Don't be mad at me for a  _clean_  joke," he pleaded.

She shook her head and scoffed, "And you  _still_  don't get it!"

"Hunny―" and he started that sentence knowing full well that word's potency, but hoping it would take the bite out of what he was about to say―"you do realize I was only there because Seles wanted to go, right? And damn lucky thing I was, turned out."

"What?! You know―whatever you say. It's not going to take away from the fact."

"The  _fact_? What fact? I'm not even kidding. You  _know_  she collapsed. Why would I call myself lucky to be there with Rattenmeier―And why would I be looking at other women, anyway?" Zelos barked, tone escalating.

" _Because_ , Zelos, that's what you  _do_!" Sheena harrumphed. She stormed past him to the front of the cluster.

"I meant,  _when my sister's passed out in a corner_!" he called after her.

Sheepishly, Emil made an aside to Regal. "A-are they always like this?"

Without missing a beat, Regal replied, "It's as if they've never been apart."

Somewhere near Zelos, the girl Marta began to speak. "Wow, but it sure sounds like Zelos cares about his sister, though. To turn away a noblewoman to take care of her―! How incredibly courageous!" she cooed.

"God  _damn_  them," Zelos affirmed. "I don't care if they're Vanguard or what. Anyone who even looks at Seles the wrong way is gonna answer to me. After I string them up by their necks from the summit of Mt. Fooji, I'll tie them to a sack of bricks and dump them into Flanoir Harbor…"

"Well, I guess Regal and Sheena weren't kidding when they said you'd be like this," Emil said. Zelos abruptly stopped walking, and Emil in response followed suit.

"What did they say…?" he asked, clueless as to why the children would be warned about him.

"They said you cared a lot about your sister. That you'd never forgive anybody who hurt her," Marta chimed in after Emil remained stuttering, silent.

Oh. Well, that wasn't bad. It was true. Nothing to worry about.

Until the big black spirit-thingy―Okay, Tenebrae, or whatever-his-name was―spoke out of turn: "Essentially, they said you seem to have a thing for your sister."

Zelos could have punched him in the mouth.

"Hey, Regal, Sheena, come here for a tickety-tock," Zelos said through clenched teeth.

"Th-that's not what we meant!" Regal defended himself. Of course, he maintained his dignity and neutral stance.

"T-tenebrae!" Sheena hissed.

"No―No, it's cool. You guys need to hear this, anyway, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone. Or one spirit with my fist, whichever comes first," Zelos threatened, glancing sidelong at Tenebrae.

"What do you mean?" Marta asked.

"About Seles. I-I know I hadn't exactly been the most protective brother before, but she lived on an island in an Abbey for her entire life by the decree of the Church and state. It may have been an awful life, but since the new research about technology has been published, it was probably the only way she was living comfortably. See, she's got some bad blood which makes her prone to disease," he explained.

Marta gasped sympathetically.

"Yeah, it happens, no worries. It was being kept under control by this thing I'm wearing right here―this Cruxis Crystal. I was supposed to be wearing it my whole life, but… some things came up, and I switched to an Exsphere for convenience and let her keep the more powerful one. When I needed to take it for the Regeneration, I switched back. Then… after that whole nauseating affair, Tethe'alla instated some laws about Exspheres being destroyed and abolished, as well as most technology that runs on it. We didn't realize until recently that Seles's life was basically being supported by this Exsphere, 'cause you know, how they enhance ability and stuff. She's stuck with a fake one right now. Her strength gives out every so often and she'll be in terrible pain," Zelos sighed. "That's why we need to  _scoot_  and get to the base already."

"… So, are you an Exsphere dealer?" Marta asked him pressingly.

"No, my sweet, young flower. Not I. Though…" He trailed off and looked to Regal for remembrance of their exploits with Vharley, the stout man that did deal Exspheres on the black market. Seles's Exsphere wasn't one of his. "I once knew a man that dealt them. He was the one conspiring with the Pope to kill the King. Luckily, yours truly swept in and saved the day!" He threw a smile and grandiose bow toward the girl.

"Ever humble," Tenebrae reminded him.

"Just doing my job," Zelos countered.

"Your job of  _what_  again, exactly?" Sheena remarked, sidelong. Instead of answering, Zelos caught her glance. For a moment, he felt that old spark of banter, that glorious old feeling. And for that moment, it wasn't wondering, but knowing that eventually they'd be okay. Eventually.


	7. Don't Expect

When, after Zelos's mother died, Yuan came to collect the boy to begin his training, the first place they went was an office in a clean, white hallway. Zelos doesn't remember much about it except for the low hum and the jewel-tone carpet exclusive to the room. He was sure he had noticed the gold accents, although his recent memory of the same room might have influenced the timeframe.

Cruxis was nothing if not a towering cluster of well-embellished organizational buildings. And somehow, they remained free of dust even in the sparsest corners. Zelos suspected it had something to do with the way Mithos had built the place―keep out as many traces of humans as possible. But for as creepy as it seemed to anyone not used to the life of an angel, every space was comfortable. The offices were lavishly upholstered. Even the chamber that ultimately housed the body of Martel was stunning to look at and truly a work of art.

Cape Fortress was… not.

Cape Fortress was always more of a cavernous shithole. Not even Exsphere dealers or pirates would use it as a stronghold because the place was mazelike, having been carved out and furnished only to be abandoned by a failing kingdom some thousands of years ago when Tethe'alla was in decline. Not to mention, the pathways inside of the halls were big enough for all sizes of monsters to venture there. In another twist of evolution's knife, the creatures endemic to the area were known to produce the foulest-smelling bodily fluids known to Tethe'alla. It was poisonous, dangerous, and full of way, way too many staircases. So of course it was perfect for the Vanguard.

When the group arrived―not before a long day's travel and endless non-conversations―it seemed like the place hadn't improved much. It had, however, gotten a little redder than Zelos remembered. The Vanguard flags were pasted upon the walls in the gaudiest manner possible. It wasn't surprising that the Vanguard didn't actually hold meetings there very often.

"Here we are," Marta said sheepishly, gesturing at the obvious entrance. It reminded him of so many temples.

"So this is the Vanguard's base… Man, what a total dump," Zelos remarked.

Tenebrae, who had been resting beside Marta, said, "Making it ornate would serve little purpose."

"Look, I know you were all locked up with some sort of Summon Spirit thing for a long time and all, but have you not noticed standards of living? What kind of scum locks a guy's poor sister up in a place like this?!" he ranted. Tenebrae was beginning to really piss him off. Was it his nature to be so contradictory? Didn't he know everything in the world? And for god's sake, would he stop floating around and using his powers all the time? It was annoying.

"You were expecting one of those immaculate, luxurious revolutionary soldier camps?"

Zelos snapped. "A little of you goes a long way, Tenny."

"I might say the same thing about you, sir," Tenebrae smarmily countered.

"You got that right," Sheena said, followed by Regal's, "Indeed," and a quiet, "Yeah," from Emil.

Regal continued a thought. "However, this place is not very well-guarded. We ought to advance to an inner chamber." He moved forward.

Zelos hung his head briefly. "Come on, guys, where's the love?" he entreated. It wouldn't be the first time an entire party would be biased against him. Except this time, it was because of something he actually felt and wanted to fight for. Didn't Tenebrae know about Cruxis and the way Zelos was raised? Didn't he know how bad Seles's condition was? He couldn't trust these people, or  _things_ (Tenebrae), outright. There was a lot to worry about with the Vanguard. They hadn't been established for four thousand years and their kidnapping schemes would be a wild card. Seles might not be killed immediately, but if she were away from treatment or rest long enough…

Meanwhile, Marta had begun to move everyone inside the fortress. Tenebrae and Emil had taken up the lead with her while Regal kept behind a short distance. Like Zelos, Sheena hadn't even begun to walk.

Zelos glanced at her then. When he locked eyes with her, though brief it was, he felt the same stretched-out guilt in his soul the same as he had on the day he last saw her.  _Can't you tell what I'm thinking_?

"Hey, um, I don't want to spoil your moment, but we should get moving," Sheena said quietly.

"'M not having a moment, Sheena. I mean, that Centurion…" He suddenly lost all the words he could have said.

Without missing a beat, Sheena replied, "Well, it'd be better to think about it while getting Seles, wouldn't it? I mean, I get it. Just follow me if you're not up for leading today." She began to follow the group.

"Man, what is  _with_  you?" Zelos called, having no other way to reach out to her.

Sheena turned around. "You really can't figure it out? Man, you're thick."

"… So we're back to this." He sighed.

And every time they met from now on, it would always be this distanced, pretend-polite putting up with each other; wouldn't it? They would have the years of history between them forming a gap rather than a bind. He wondered if anyone else saw that gap every time he spoke to her or how badly he wanted to cross it.

"Hey, I owe Seles," Sheena said firmly, ignoring the root of his comment. Then her face softened. "… Besides, I'm sick of everyone saying her name wrong."

They both cracked a grin. Zelos said, "These people seem to pronounce a lot of things wrong. Maybe we should go and set 'em straight." At least it was some common ground. But it wasn't a replacement for the ease of conversation they used to have.

"Yeah, okay. Get a move on, Zelos." Sheena shooed him into the Cape Fortress entrance. The pair walked quickly to catch up with the rest of the group.

It was dark and humid, so the use of torches lining the walls did nothing to diminish their discomfort. Regal mostly kept to himself, although he did entertain a few exchanges with Tenebrae. Marta and Emil walked side-by-side without saying much, except for Marta's occasional directions through the place.

"We've got one more staircase until we make it to the main entrance," she explained.

"Oh goody," Tenebrae snorted. "Are there going to be  _tons_  of monsters or just  _lots_  of monsters?"

"Are there really that many monsters here?" Emil squeaked. "I don't know if I'm up for that…"

"Oh, Emil, I'm sure you'll be there to rescue me if it gets too bad! And don't forget, I'll protect you, too!" Marta squealed, perking up for the first time since they had arrived. Zelos had to admit that his gut churned a little every time Marta said something sugary to the boy. Was it that she was so hopeful in a time of distress? Everything about her was a veneer until it came to mentioning the Vanguard. There was something she wasn't telling anybody about, likely not as horrifically secretive as what he'd signed up for, but definitely dangerous. Aside from the fact that the Vanguard would continue to pursue her for the Ratatosk's core inside her head, there was something else that they needed from her. She left for another reason.

"I hope Seles is okay," Sheena thought out loud. To be fair, it had been a while since Seles had attacked anyone with anything but words. But if the danger she was in was real, it was essentially another product of Sylvarant.

Zelos glared at the back of Marta's head. "Let's just say that if she's not okay, I'll make sure the Vanguard pays with their lives."

"I'm sorry," Marta offered, turning to face Zelos, who quickly changed his expression from  _clearly irritated_ to  _vaguely confused_.

"Y'know, doll, I wish I could say, 'it's fine, don't worry about it,' but I really can't this time," Zelos said.

As they rounded the last corner, Sheena ended up at the front of the group and ended up whipping around to chide the Chosen. "Don't you think that's a little harsh to say? She's just a girl, Zelos."

There was a moment of quiet where what sounded like wind rustled along the walls of the fortress.

"Sheena! Behind you!" Regal called suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Look out!" Emil shouted, his voice deepening to signify imminent attack. Zelos couldn't see what they were telling her to avoid for the dark. Nevertheless, he thumbed the hilt of his sword to pop the blade out just in case there was an actual opponent. It was odd that he didn't sense anything if the others did.

Sheena lifted herself over and backward into a flip, landing as gracefully as a traveling gypsy acrobat. "No sweat!" she proclaimed cockily.

Then, the inevitable.

There was a loud click, a shift like the earthquakes in Meltokio, and the floor panel she had been standing on dropped out. She fell.

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING MEEEEEE!" she howled, hurtling into what sounded like a little more than a slight pit.

Instead of running to the edge of the hole, Marta put her hand on her hip and said, "What? Again?!"

Zelos suddenly sensed what the rest of them had been avoiding. It was a moderately large monster, looming beneath the staircase. He was stricken with the lightning bolt of adrenaline. Fight or flight―it couldn't be both, because this fall was sure to be shorter than the Tower of Salvation.

Regal shot Zelos a look of urgency. " _I'll_  go look for her," he insisted, though subtly.  _I will go take care of Sheena so you can stay on task_. "You all, go get Seles." He knelt by the hole then lowered himself down by the arms.

There wasn't a spare moment for Zelos to wonder whether Regal had wings. His hand grasped the sword at his belt as he dashed toward the foe. It appeared to be a mutant rabbit creature based on its large ears and leg structure. He didn't know the name―not that it mattered.

Three swift slashes subdued it and Zelos glanced to make sure the kids were helping out. Sure enough, Emil was yet standing dumbfounded at the pitfall, and Marta was trying to cast while an errant bat flitted at her head.

"Hey! Cover me while I'm casting!" she called to either of them. But the moment Zelos wasted looking elsewhere brought a swipe of claws.

"Emil! You've gotta cover her!" Zelos infused a lightning spell into his next maneuver.

Finally, it seemed that Emil's Ratatosk warrior awoke and ran to protect Marta. It wasn't a long battle, though Zelos had defeated the large rabbit beast singlehandedly before the two others got the bat. He sighed.

"We did it!" Marta said exhaustedly.

Tenebrae materialized and motioned with his tail. "Let's get moving before we meet up with any of its relatives," he advised.

* * *

Several monster attacks and hundreds of stairs later, the party decided to rest. There was a gated-off stairwell partway through the fortress where they would make their temporary camp.

Sitting down, Emil said, "I'm glad we can take a break. This place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be."

"Yeah," agreed Marta. "I never knew it was this winding. I was pretty sure it was just a big chamber, like the palace in Meltokio." She folded her legs as she knelt beside the boy. "And I didn't realize they'd have enough space to hold someone hostage  _and_  make a pitfall trap."

Tenebrae floated loftily above them. "One would think that we would have run into Regal and Sheena by now, if not Seles as well. Unless, of course, the two of them happened to find Seles and are working on a separate escape."

"Sounds like we'd be on a pointless search, then. Tenny, don't you have some sort of people-searching power thing?" Zelos asked. He was leaning against the wall, thumbs in belt loops. His legs hurt but the pain was dull, and he believed that if he rested now he wouldn't be able to go on. It didn't help that now their mission could be useless. He just didn't have a good feeling about this Cape Fortress place.

"It's Tenebrae. And unfortunately, unless Regal or Sheena has a core, I'm rather unable to locate them," he explained drily. "Additionally, even though Seles is supposed to be in possession of Glacies, I can't sense the presence of any cores at all. Perhaps this fortress protects Centurions from sensing how many or which cores exist within."

"Great," Zelos muttered.  _Doesn't protect them from acting pretentious, though._

"Hey, wasn't Sheena some sort of a ninja agent?" Marta questioned.

"Assassin," Zelos corrected. "Or at least she tried to be."

The girl continued, "She should be able to find anyone with stealth, then!"

While Zelos was somewhat impressed by her faith in a woman she hardly knew, Emil pulled a strange face. "If Sheena was an assassin, why did she get fooled by that low-tech trap at the entrance?" he remarked.

Tenebrae chuckled. "From what we've heard, she struggled with this a bit in your previous journey as well."

"―And! This isn't the first time it's happened on this trip, either," Marta added.

Zelos's eyebrows crept into confusion. "… For real?" The other three nodded in consent. "… Wow. Even I didn't think she'd be that much of a klutz."

"To be fair," Tenebrae offered, "anybody could have fallen into that trap. If you had attacked that monster before it snuck up on her, we could all have fallen together. Except, of course, for me, since, well, haha, I'm not like you humans. I  _can't_  fall!"

Zelos glared at him. "No need to rub it in." He took a second to release a heavy sigh. "First Seles was abducted, then Lloyd turned out to be an impersonator, and THEN Sheena fell into yet another trapdoor. Why do things like this keep happening around me?" he mused.

With an almost rehearsed air, Emil stuttered, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Marta chimed in.

"… Why are  _you_  guys sorry?"

"W-well..." Both of them remained silent and became interested more in the dirt floor. That moment showed the youth in their faces, the sunken hope. They were burdening themselves with far more than they should. Truly, Seles's kidnapping would have happened regardless of what those two had done because Tokunaga would have gotten that core for her no matter what. Lloyd was being impersonated long before any of them knew what was going on. And Sheena… well, they'd seen her history with traps. She would always need to be rescued if she kept running in front of the pack. Her disappearances were, at times, far too convenient.

Better to keep the kids happy and hopeful, because Zelos sure as heck wasn't representing the welcome wagon. "… Come on, you're making me feel like the bad guy. Cheer up! No more sad, depressing faces. You're young!"

"But it's all our fault. If not for us, Seles would be safe," Marta lamented.

Zelos shifted weight and knelt down next to the pair. "If you really wanna help, the best thing you can do is focus on the task at hand. None of your apologies are going to bring us closer to finding Seles." Marta brought her eyes up to meet his but her mouth was still in a guilty twist. "All I want to do is save my sister. I don't want to make you miserable. That's not my style. You understand, right?"

Emil nodded. "Right. We'll save Seles!"

"There, that's the spirit. Maybe I'll even cook you something once we get back to my mansion!" Zelos offered. That is, if they ever got to Seles in the first place.

But Emil and Marta hadn't reached that conclusion and were smiling instead. Tenebrae turned to Zelos. "You are much kinder than one would expect."

"What?" he stammered, fake-insulted. "How could you gaze upon this epitome of manliness and think otherwise?" There. Walls back in place.

"Ah, you'll have to excuse me. It would appear the standards of manliness between monsters and humans differ greatly," Tenebrae dug.

Zelos's eyes narrowed. "You might make a great piece of steak at that dinner," he said.

Marta giggled. "Emil, I think he's saying you're the manliest one here!"

"Aaaaall right, drink some water and let's keep going. The longer we wait, the likelier it is that Seles is being tortured."

* * *

"There! That has to be it," Marta exclaimed. She was pointing to a large entryway obviously leading to the royal chamber. However, it was guarded, as many other paths in the fortress, by large iron bars.

"But how are we supposed to get past it if those bars are there?" Emil asked.

"Do you think we have to press a switch like the other traps?"

Tenebrae again materialized, having traveled invisibly during the monster battles. "It would be wasteful to double back and press all the switches to see if they open this door. Perhaps there's something in the area that will trigger or unlock it."

The area was swathed in torchlight from six statues of creatures that lined the corridor. Each statue represented a different species and each torch was lower to the ground than the sconce torches lining the rest of the walls. Based on his experience, Zelos would say that the torches were either moveable or were meant to be extinguished.

"It's gotta be those torches," Zelos said. "They look out-of-place. I've seen this before. Marta, dear, would you try to pick that one up?" He gestured to the nearest one on the left wall. Marta compliantly reached for the torch.

"It's… it's not coming out," she replied.

Tenebrae floated a little further in the corridor. Fine with Zelos; if he was able to materialize on the other side of the fence and find what was on the other side, perhaps they'd be able to pass more quickly.

"My next guess is that we have to put out the light. Anybody wanna try blowing on it?" He thought about his word choice. "Hah. Blowing. No response? Noooo response, okay… five-year-olds, right."

But Marta and Emil were distracted. "Lady Marta, Emil! Up ahead," Tenebrae called.

"What, I'm chop liver?" Zelos muttered. Nah, he was the one with the plan.

The brats ran ahead of Zelos to the end of the corridor. "Zelos, look! I'll bet this changes the Sorcerer's Ring to wind to blow out the fire!" Emil said, gesturing to a familiar silver well.

When Zelos caught up, he asked, "Sorcerer's Ring? How'd you get that? I thought it was Lloyd's, or Colette's."

"Well, you see, when I became a Knight of Ratatosk, it was passed down to me," Emil explained.

"But―but Lloyd wasn't ever a Knight of anything, much less this Rata-touille character. That doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps," Tenebrae interjected, "the Ring was used for different purposes when Ratatosk wasn't reigning supreme."

"I… I don't get it. You'd think that Summon Spirits would have had it, then," Zelos said. "Transferred to summoners or even Mithos… the Hero, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have given it up for a long time." Sometimes he had to remember to bite his tongue when it came to Cruxis history. For all the progress made in Tethe'alla after the Regeneration, the masses were still highly unaware of the non-existence of a _goddess_  Martel. Zelos and Lloyd's group as well as the higher-ups in Cruxis knew that Martel was only ever really a person, and a half-elf at that. He supposed that the Church didn't find it the best publicity to advertise that there was no goddess and their religious efforts were a scam. Best not to mention that Mithos wasn't a Hero, either: just a crazy, slightly incestuous, slightly homoerotic half-elf.

"Well, I'm not sure how that works, but look! The ring has a water element. Does that mean we extinguish the flames with it?" Marta said.

"It sure doesn't mean we have a wet t-shirt contest," Zelos remarked. Though Marta blushed, Zelos had to remind himself that they were  _too young_  for his brand of off-putting humor.

"I'd say that's enough of that," Tenebrae chided. Emil pointed his hand at the closest torch.

"Wait!" Zelos snapped. "You can't just douse them in any random order. Usually there's a hint to this sort of thing. Otherwise, we'll have to figure out how to light them all again. More time wasted."

"O-okay," Emil said.

"Wow, Zelos, you sure think of everything," Marta complimented.

"Once again, how are you people surprised? I won't even say it's because I'm so beautiful and talented. Really, it's because I was trained to do this kinda thing," he replied.

While Marta was busy awing at him, Zelos took to exploring the other branches of the t-split hallway. More statues. On the right, there was a blue-tinted statue, and on the left was a red-tinted one.

"These look like the main cues. They're different from the other statues," he directed at Emil and Marta.

"Oh! There's a plaque on the wall," Emil said, now pointing to the wall near the red statue. "Let's go!" He led Marta and Zelos toward it.

Squinting at the slab, Zelos said, "Huh! Whaddaya know. It's in the common language."

"It says… we have to press the buttons on the statues after we extinguish the flames in this order," Marta read. " 'The red knight protected the fortress from a monster with sharp claws and a bent beak―'"

"Wait!" Tenebrae cautioned. "Perhaps we should read it out loud as Emil directs the water onto the torches."

"Right!" Emil trotted back to the hall of statues.

Marta continued to call out once Emil was in place. "Okay. 'The red knight protected the fortress from…'"

But the red-tinted statue caught Zelos's eye again. Upon closer inspection, that is, underneath the helmet decoration, he noticed the facial structure and hair styling of the human figure inside. He could have screamed. Instead, he let out an exasperated sigh and mumbled, "No way. Oh, no way."

"What is it, Chosen-to-Be-Observant One?" Tenebrae inquired.

The news was above the Centurion's sarcasm. "This statue. I know this guy."

"How is that possible? This stone looks to be hundreds of years old. Unless you're immortal, it seems unlikely that you would know the red knight."

"No, I'm not immortal, but funny you should say that. It's not just any red knight," Zelos sighed. "It's Kratos. Kratos Aurion. Has to be."

"Who is this Kratos Aurion of whom you speak? I'm not familiar."

"Wait, aren't you… Oh, this must have been during the time you were asleep. Kratos is a―" Zelos stopped himself abruptly. He realized in that moment that he didn't  _have_  to tell Tenebrae who Kratos was. He didn't  _have_  to tell the whole story of Cruxis, from the Angels to the making of Exspheres. Hell, none of these souls knew about his flip-flopping with Renegades, nor did they know who the Renegades were. They didn't know about his betrayal at the Tower.

… They would  _never_  have to know about his betrayal.

He was a new man, or at least enough of one.

"―Well, Kratos is a member of Cruxis who just so happens to be immortal. Part of the whole Tethe'alla-gets-technology thing. It wouldn't surprise me that he was at this fortress hundreds of years ago. It was before he got distracted and ran off on his own," Zelos explained. "And I'll bet… Can you see if that blue-tinted statue has a ponytail, by chance?"

Tenebrae nodded, poofed himself over to the blue statue, then returned to the red side. "It appears as such."

"That'd be Yuan. No way," Zelos laughed. "I can't believe they were here before. Not even  _I_ would have guessed that."

"And you know  _everything_ , is that right?"

Zelos smirked. "Sure is." Nobody had to know.

Emil approached them, having completed his task. "So do we press the switch now?"

"Lady Marta, the honor is yours," Tenebrae said.

"Goody!" Marta shouted and pressed the red knight's switch. For all of their naïveté, the three of them made a pretty good team. In fact, they may have been more cooperative than the Regeneration group.

At the pressing, a loud rumble shook the ground. At last, the iron bars descended and the large entryway was open. And there was that electricity running through Zelos's veins again, and circling back to his Cruxis crystal. They would be able to get to Seles. His time to shine. "Let's go."

* * *

When met with the sounds of live steel clashing, Zelos was uneasy. At the bottom of the stairs would surely be a battle―he only hoped they weren't too late. After all, Seles, Sheena, and Regal didn't have swords on them.

The group followed through an archway, and there it was: Two Lloyds fighting each other with identical weapons. Well, it wasn't two Lloyds. One had to have been that guy that Marta reassured him was able to impersonate Lloyd. Zelos knew it from the smell. But Seles was nowhere in sight.

"There are two Lloyds?" Emil exclaimed.

"One of them has to be Decus!" Marta replied.

Momentarily, Lloyd stopped battling Lloyd and held a defensive stance. "Come on! Give me a hand! Help me defeat this fake Lloyd!"

The other Lloyd then advised, "Don't let him fool you! He's the imposter!"

Zelos took a discerning look at both Lloyds. Every detail from the split-ended haircut to the stains on the tails of his jacket was exactly the same on one as the other. Decus, whichever one he was, must have taken the transformation into effect shortly before they had arrived. Although, there was one thing that Decus could truly not replicate. It was something unique to Lloyd alone, just as was the woman that comprised it: the Exsphere on his hand. However, that would be a hard thing to test by looks alone.

He would have to rely on his Cruxis Crystal. If what Seles said was true about Exspheres having mates, then Zelos's Cruxis Crystal would be able to tell whether Lloyd's Exsphere was fake or not. Wouldn't it? He closed his eyes and focused his thoughts into the little jewel on his chest.  _Come on, give me something. Come on, come on, come on…_

He felt a tendril reach out, intangible and light, toward his right. The sharp pain was necessary.

"If one of them is Decus, he should reek of that cologne," Marta noted.

"The smell is overpowering everything. I can't tell which one it's coming from," Zelos said. It wasn't a lie; he really couldn't smell which was which. But he did know now that Decus was the left-hand Lloyd.

"Damn it! This is ridiculous!" the real Lloyd cried.

"I trust all of you! I know justice will prevail and you'll make the right choice!" Decus-as-Lloyd flailed his arms in the air victoriously. Man, if those two kids didn't see the act by now, they'd never get it. As a precaution, Zelos drew his sword.

"Emil! What should we do?" Marta whispered. Zelos watched as Emil nervously glanced between Lloyds. He soon fixed his eyes on the left-hand one.

"This one! This is the imposter!" he declared, swinging his sword at Decus. Decus flew across the room and landed on a slab of broken column so roughly that it caused him to revert to his true form.

Zelos shared a moment with Lloyd in which they glanced at each other, then took defensive stances behind Emil and Marta. It occurred to Zelos why Lloyd was there in the first place. He wasn't trying to save Seles or steal her core. He was there to get one from  _Decus_. Perhaps Seles's core would come later, but for now, his battle was definitely against Decus. If it wasn't, why would they be on the same side?

"Decus!" Marta exclaimed. "I can't believe it. You're… you're the one responsible for attacking Palmacosta and destroying all those cities!" Her voice hitched.

All too casually, Decus said, "Aw, crap, you found me out. Damn it, I was supposed to keep all of this a secret from you, Marta."

"W-what are you talking about? So then… Daddy ordered you to…?"

Uh oh.

"Daddy? What do you mean, 'Daddy?'" Emil asked.

Decus, leaning against a large sapphire-colored coffin object, laughed, "Oh, I see. You didn't tell them, did you? Yes, of course! If you did, you wouldn't be able to stay with them…"

In an uncharacteristic tone, Emil asked, "What does he mean, Marta?" His eyes, still big and green, narrowed. Marta couldn't even bring herself to look at him.

Suddenly, a new voice spoke. "Our dear little Martmart is the only daughter of the Vanguard's great commander, Brute!" Zelos whipped his head around to see that the voice belonged to none other than Alice. He was almost diabetic for the sugar in her voice, which he imagined was laced with little less-than-three hearts.

And―oh god. She was manhandling Seles, who was bound at the wrists.

"Seles!" he called.

"Zelos!"

"Don't you dare take another step!" Alice barked, twirling her riding crop. To Seles, she said, "I just love breaking the arms of cute little girls like you."

At the sight of Alice threatening his sister, something welled up inside of him hotter than any burning he'd felt from the Cruxis Crystal. And it exploded. "Why, you little BITCH." It was all he could do not to slice her throat right then and there.

"Long as I win," Alice smiled cruelly.

"Yeah, you'd better not badmouth my precious little Alice, or you'll have to answer to me!" Decus threatened. Although it wasn't as threatening with the hot iron hate Zelos held.

"Shut up, Decus. Now, be good kids and hand over your cores and your weapons! Why, Martmart can bring them to us," Alice instructed.

Suddenly, Emil spoke up. "Why are you doing this? What do you want with the Centurions' cores?"

Alice remained tight-lipped and wild-eyed.

"We only really need Ratatosk's core. Commander Brute wants the rest for his little collection," Decus said, likely only saying so to show off. Funny how Alice had called Emil's group "kids" and her companion acted more juvenile than all of them combined.

"Decus! Stop answering their questions!" Alice hissed.

With a flamboyant bow, Decus apologized to his "dear" Alice.  _Oh, please_ , Zelos thought.

"NOW, Martmart. And do your best to be quick about it."

Zelos could see that Marta was actually considering surrendering herself to Alice. But in a flash―literally, a flash―something punched Alice hard enough to knock her backwards and off Seles. Except that something wasn't a thing, it was a someone. Except that someone wasn't anyone, but the actual most unlikely person it possibly could have been.

Sheena?

"Not so fast!" the ninja shouted. Simultaneously, a glowing circle zipped through the dank air. It boomeranged back to its owner, Colette, who had appeared beside Sheena.

"We're not gonna let you!" Colette said. She hadn't changed a bit. After putting her discs away, she put a protective arm around Seles.

Suddenly, Regal shouted from the far wall, "So sorry to disappoint you!" and kicked Decus down to the ground. Now that their entourage was complete, Zelos was not one bit surprised that the operation had been a success. Of course, the Regeneration group worked harder than any other people in the world. If the Vanguard really cared, they'd stop deploying soldiers elsewhere and protect their own damn fortress. Did they know what they were dealing with?

Sword still drawn, he asked, "Colette, is Seles okay?"

"We'll take care of her. Lloyd, this way!" Colette replied. Obediently, Lloyd ran over and also put his arm around Seles, whom they escorted through a back door.

"You're not getting away!" Alice cried, then followed after Lloyd, Colette, and Seles. Just as Zelos sprung to run after them, Decus brought his coffin over and blocked the way. Zelos followed them with his eyes and could have sworn he saw a flash of bright light from Colette before they disappeared―angel wings. That was something Alice didn't have, for sure. They'd be fine.

"Not so fast, Red. Don't interfere with my Alice. I'll protect her no matter what!" Decus swore.

"Oh, really? You're gonna stop me? You can't even put on cologne without screwing it up, you miserable lout!" Zelos replied. Finally, he'd put his sword to good use.

* * *

When Decus was finally brought to his hands and knees, the Glacies core became dislodged and dropped to the floor. It rolled just enough that Marta was able to pick it up and guard it.

Decus muttered something that was unintelligible to Zelos, who was catching his breath farthest from the foe.

"Decus, did Daddy really order you to do all of that? Did he order you to attack Palmacosta?" Marta asked, cautious.

"I was ordered to use the power of the Centurion's core to transform into Lloyd, then attack a meeting of the Vanguard. That would allow us to wipe out our internal dissent, and place all of the blame on the Church of Martel," Decus explained, barely loud enough to hear. But there was something else that was making sound. Zelos surveyed the area, where aside from Marta, nobody had moved since the end of the battle.

"No, Decus…" Marta said quietly.

Then it became clear. As though he saw it right in front of him, he could tell that someone was approaching him from behind. Right―he was at the archway where they had entered. It was just in time, too. He heard the rush of air where a weapon was surely headed toward them. Whipping around, Zelos guarded the slice of an axe from hitting him or Marta.

Sure enough, behind the handle was the only other soul malicious enough to pursue them this far.

"Richter!" Emil gasped.

"I'll handle this, Decus. Now, go!" Richter said, straining against Zelos's sword.

Marta dashed toward the fleeing Decus. "Wait a minute!" But she was swept up by what looked to be a white and blue siren monster, and thrown against a far wall. Emil's eyes went bright red.

"Man, what  _is_  it with you people?!" Zelos shouted. "That's a  _little girl_ you're throwing against the wall!"

Richter forced his axe to the side so that it would disengage the blade against it. He turned to Emil, who was focused on Marta. The three of them weren't concerned with Decus's getting away, but Regal and Sheena did. They followed him hastily.

"Emil, farewell," Richter said and pounced on the boy.

His fighting style was a cross between berserker and mage. Since Zelos knew of Richter's half-elven heritage, it was easy for him to predict when a spell would be cast in place of a sword attack. He would pace his sword thrusts to interrupt spell casting, then run back to cast his own magic when he could. But he ended up serving as a bit of a healer. He imagined being thrown against a wall impeded Marta from healing at full capacity. And Tenebrae simply floating in the corner and watching with a concentrated stare wasn't helping the three of them any. He'd wished that at least Regal had stayed to help them fight. Sheena would have just distracted him when clearly Emil and Marta needed him more.

After a rather arduous handful of minutes, Richter and Emil arrived at a standstill. But Richter only took a few breaths until reaching out and lifting the helpless boy by the throat. Zelos was still busy healing Marta―there was only so much he could do.

"Emil, I won't ask you to forgive me. You can curse me in hell instead," Richter threatened.

"N-no, Rich―ter!" Emil stammered, clawing at the man's arms.

Somewhere during the plea, Richter softened. Barely above a whisper, "Aster."

And Zelos heard it and knew what it meant, only wondering if Tenebrae or Marta or Emil knew. Perhaps Zelos didn't know the whole truth, but based on that look in Richter's eyes, something must have happened between him and that Aster guy that reminded him of this situation. A reversal? Did Aster leave Richter at one point, and Richter had pleaded like that? Either way, the flash of empathy really humanized Richter, for whatever it was worth.

Emil crumpled to the ground, and Richter turned and left, his strange blue-and-white monster friend in tow.

"Come on, Seles is still in trouble!" Zelos called. Marta helped Emil to stand and follow.

In the next room, thankfully, a battle was not in progress (again). Alice stood in front of Lloyd, Colette, Sheena, Regal, and of course, Seles, who was now useless to the Vanguard.

Lloyd was acting as the voice of the group, reasoning with Alice in some way or another. "You don't need those cores for your goals," he assured.

Weakly, Emil spoke up. "Your goal is to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty, right?"

Zelos looked at him, dumbstruck at the information. He knew  _aaaaall_  about the Sylvarant Dynasty. What's more, he'd learned it from the mouths of people who were alive during the short time that it had happened. Rather, angels. The most important fact was that it wasn't a dynasty, it was just two strong kings in a row followed by a lousy one whose Chosen was defeated by Tethe'alla's. They built a couple of cool buildings and temples and had the most advanced society that Sylvarant would ever experience. But they weren't anything to aspire to, really. They weren't despots or champions; just lucky. And that was partially due to the fact that Mithos was curious to see what would happen if the world of the elves suffered a little.

"The  _Sylvarant_  Dynasty? Please. You guys can't be serious."

"Oh, our commander is  _quite_  serious. He is a descendant from the Sylvarant Dynasty, which fell eight hundred years ago," Alice bragged. That was the sign that she was stark, entirely full of crap and ignorant to boot.

Before Zelos could insult her and get an upper hand, his Cruxis Crystal gave him an indication that they were not alone with Alice. "Someone's above us," he warned the group, looking up to confirm his suspicion of Decus.

Smugly, Decus said, "Did you know that the Sylvarant Dynasty was destroyed by the Cruxis Angels and the Church of Martel?"

_Wonder what he'd do if he saw_ my  _wings,_  Zelos thought.

"Dear Martmart, come back to the Vanguard. If you bring back Ratatosk's core, Commander Brute will forgive you," Alice offered.

"No way! I'll never go back. I took Ratatosk's core on purpose to stop Daddy's foolish ambitions once and for all," Marta replied.

"Nobody likes a strong-willed little girl." Alice, barely more than a girl herself, turned to summon a flying monster pet of hers. "Let's go, Decus."

"I'll follow you to the end of the earth," the man replied, hauling his coffin onto the monster before they took off.

There was a collective moment of anticipation, then a sigh of relief. It was easier than they had thought to keep the Vanguard at bay. Again, perhaps they didn't know what they were dealing with. The moment passed, and Regal ventured to say, "We are all wounded and tired. Let's go back to Meltokio for now. Is that okay, Zelos?"

He nodded. "Yeah, my mansion is perfect for that sort of thing."

"Let's go," Lloyd asserted, the leader in him stronger than ever.

Colette, who had been standing off to the side with Seles, suddenly jerked to the side. Seles had fainted and the angel was attempting to hold her up. Of course, Zelos rushed to help, and knew he would be the one carrying Seles on his back on their way out of Cape Fortress. Only, he wondered if Seles wasn't the reason Lloyd was still following them.

* * *

During the long journey up the stairs and out toward the light, Lloyd was unreachable. He wouldn't even answer to Colette. Seles wasn't heavy, but since the group didn't rest until they emerged into the light, Zelos's legs could hardly carry him. He had to set her down on a stair.

Thoughtfully, Sheena had called for her agents to arrange for a couple carriages for their ride to the city. They had camouflaged canopies and were led by domesticated monsters, driverless since Mizuho scouts knew no common folk were allowed knowledge of Sheena's business. Lloyd took about one look at the setup and said, "I've changed my mind."

Nervous and obliged to handle the situation, Emil interjected, "Lloyd! I'm sorry for the way I acted. It's my fault!"

"It's nothing you should feel bad about. I had no intention of staying to explain myself from the beginning."

"There's only one way we can remove Ratatosk's core from Marta. We have to hatch all of the cores and wake up Ratatosk himself. Why are you after the cores? Maybe we can work together, hatch them for us and get them for you?" Emil bargained.

"Yeah, let's work together. You can start by handing over your cores, right now!" Lloyd barked. He drew his swords and glared at the boy. Obviously, this wasn't what the old Lloyd would do.

"This isn't like you!" Sheena shouted to try and distract him.

"Lloyd, please, don't hurt yourself," Colette pleaded. Her face was more sullen than Zelos had ever seen it.

"There's nothing I can say for now," Lloyd finally said. He left without another word, following the side of the building to where everyone was sure he had parked his Rheaird.

"―We have to go after him!" Emil said, ready to dash forward.

Zelos put his hand on his hip. "It's no use. He's got a Rheaird and we're travelling by land. It's not worth it to carry on." He glanced at Seles, who still looked like she needed rest pretty badly.

"Come on, get in the carriages. I'll take Emil and Marta. Regal, can you drive Colette, Zelos, and Seles?" Sheena said. Regal nodded, and they took what supplies they had into the carriage with them.

The ride was fairly short thanks to the monsters, but getting into the city was as much of a pain as ever. When Sheena's carriage arrived at the front gate, it was met with a few guards. Because Sheena was an emissary, she got through with no problem, but advised via scout system that Regal take the other carriage to the back of the city. If rumor got around that Seles was injured and coming into the city, surely some less-than-fans would try to cause her harm. Man, this was such a pain.

Instead of being able to reach the back way into the city, the carriage was impeded by its wheels. Begrudgingly, Zelos and Colette had to use their Cruxis-given wings to lift Regal and Seles up over the city walls and into the Wilder mansion garden.

"By the way, Regal," Zelos said as he set the man down, "What's up with you and Sheena being so buddy-buddy lately? Y'know, Mizuho connections and whatnot?"

"Ah, well," Regal muttered. "I can't tell you the details, but it has to do with the protection of Lezareno. Don't worry. My intentions are simply that of a business partner." He smirked at Zelos's confused expression.

"Oh, well, I wasn't worried, I'm just wondering why she can talk to you but not me." He plodded to the door.

Tokunaga attended to Seles and saw her to bed―just as well, since it might have been his fault for buying the core in the first place. Meanwhile, Sebastian ordered the kitchen staff to prepare a meal for the guests. The group took turns washing up and lounging in the living room, which was actually  _not_  the room at the front entrance of the house but rather a corner room overlooking the garden.

"Um, Mister Zelos, your house is… it's really… big," Emil said. Marta gently hit his shoulder.

"Emil! I think what he's trying to say is that it's lovely," Marta covered.

"Well, it is the second-biggest in the country," Zelos explained, "behind the palace, which apparently counts because the King sleeps there."

"Probably second-biggest in the world, now, considering Sylvarant's biggest buildings are cathedrals and shrines," Sheena commented from the other side of the room. Her legs were crossed in the single big leather chair. The room was furnished with large couches and even a chaise lounge, upon which Marta had chosen to sit. For the full-length windows and solid gold accents, everything was swallowed up in grandiose nature. It made Zelos feel guilty that the teenagers present had all grown up in less-than-civil conditions: attacked Palmacosta, construction-era Luin, and, Colette still being eighteen, primitive Iselia. But if not for this privilege, Zelos might never have had access to the wealth of information that protected them unknowingly.

"Sylvarant… right."

Marta's face fell once more. Instead of trying to tiptoe around the topic, Zelos pushed it. "Marta, is it true that the Vanguard wants to revive whatever of the Sylvarant Dynasty is left to destroy Tethe'alla?"

"They… They want to destroy the Church of Martel and the Royal family to upset the country's foundation. And they need Ratatosk's core to do it." She brushed her bangs out in front of her face.

"Ratatosk's core alone can do that?" Emil questioned.

"They plan on using it to power some weapon called the mana cannon."

Sheena sat straight up. "No way!"

"You've heard of it?" Emil asked. Regal and Colette shared a knowing look before Sheena spoke up again.

"Yes, I've used it myself. It takes the energy of half the Summon Spirits combined to power it at all. If left in the wrong hands, it could destroy the entire world…"

There was a pause in conversation. Regal suddenly said, "We need to come up with a plan if we are going to successfully halt the Vanguard. Let's list the things we have to cover."

"Well, there's the mana cannon. Tethe'alla doesn't even know it exists, and I have no idea how Sylvarant found out about it," Sheena said.

"Can I assume something for a minute? 'Cause knowing Yuan, the confidentiality among the Renegades was pretty weak. I know for a fact that some of the Renegades joined the Vanguard because of the benefits and their mercenary background. If even one of them mentioned the mana cannon, I'll bet he was promoted that second," Zelos announced. "So, since the only other organized fighting group is the Church of Martel, I'm gonna have to have an audience with the King." As an aside to Emil, he added, "Not the Pope, though, I'm not gonna mess with him again. Heh."

Colette spoke next. "And Iselia is near the mana cannon. I have to go back and warn them. Is there any way we can find Professor Sage?"

"I guess I'll leave that to some Mizuho scouts. Raine and Genis and Presea, too, right? We're gonna need all the help we can get," Sheena said.

"Emil, what are you going to do next?" Regal asked.

"Well, I was going to free the rest of the cores with Marta. That way, we can free Ratatosk and also stop the Vanguard from using the mana cannon. Right, Marta?"

Marta nodded.

Regal responded, "Then I shall continue to accompany you. I don't pretend to understand what Lloyd is thinking. But perhaps I could be of help the next time you face him."

Sheena looked from Regal to Emil, then to Marta. "I think I'll go, too. If we end up having to stop the mana cannon, my powers might come in handy. And… I can't throw my support to Lloyd until I know what he's about."

"Then I can't go," Zelos said. He shot an aggressive look at Sheena. If that was her problem, fine. "I'm sure Lloyd has his reasons. I'm gonna search for him after I'm done with the Royals. I know he wouldn't do anything to endanger the world in the meantime."

Colette sat up. "I feel the same way. I want to find Lloyd and help him."

"So Emil and Marta will look for the cores. After Sheena contacts Mizuho, she and I will accompany their party. Perhaps Genis, Raine, and Presea will be able to meet up with us. Zelos will go to the palace, and Colette to Iselia, and from there they will attempt to find Lloyd. Is this information correct?" Regal summarized. Every head nodded resolutely.

Then, Tenebrae poofed into the room. "Well, I suppose it's correct, although I guess I should expect to be forgotten," he remarked.

Marta smiled for the first time in a while. "Oh, Tenebrae, we haven't forgotten about you! You're coming with me!"

Zelos could have sworn he saw Sheena's eyes widen in annoyance.

Sebastian appeared at the doorway just then. "Ladies and gentlemen, your dinner is served," he said. He bowed to each member of the group as they passed through to the dining room. Zelos, of course, let everyone else enter ahead of him. He had to at least appear to still be a nobleman of Meltokio, even if it was full of superfluous ceremony.

Upon entering the room, he had noticed that the placing around the table was Colette and Marta on one long side, Regal and Emil on the other, and Sheena at one end. The head of the table was necessarily left for the man of the house. But he couldn't help but be embarrassed and a little annoyed at Sheena's placing. According to Meltokio etiquette, that was usually reserved for the wife of the host, or in lieu of one, the most important woman at the table. He would have thought it would go to Colette.

Before seating himself, Zelos took Sebastian aside. "Sebs, why is Sheena at Colette's placing at the table? You know what that implies and I'm  _not_  going to deal with that with the kids here, my petulance aside," he whispered harshly.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Master Zelos, Miss Sheena requested to be at her traditional place. Perhaps she feels most comfortable there."

"When did she do that? I was here the whole time."

"I believe there was a moment whereupon she excused herself to the washroom and found me in the corridor."

Zelos thought for a moment. "Oh. Well. Probably, now that I think about it. Didn't realize we were going to play this game, though."

"It is not my place to say so, but if I were you I would enjoy the solitude of her behavior and cherish these moments while they last. She does not seem confrontational toward you," Sebastian recommended. "I repeat that I know it is not my place."

Sighing, Zelos turned to his chair. "All right, but I might blame you later."

"What's for dinner, Zelos?" Colette asked cheerily. "I always know it'll be a gourmet meal from you."

"I didn't actually cook it, so I don't know. Sebastian?"

Headed out to retrieve the pre-course salad, Sebastian quickly answered, "Curry rice, sir."

Zelos could hardly stop himself from glancing at Sheena, whose favorite and in fact  _signature_  dish it was. Seriously, what else was going to taunt him this hour alone? It would be a long meal.

As time progressed, conversation got a little lighter. "So anyway, now that you've met the Sage siblings, how did you like them?" Sheena asked Marta.

"Oh! Well, Genis is so smart with magic. I picked up a spell from him, actually! And the Professor was nice, until…" Marta's face soured, politely.

"Haha! So you've met her Ruin Mode, eh?"

"She can be scary when she's a maniac!" Emil added, his mouth half-full of food.

"Oh! Speaking of maniacs," Colette jumped in, "I think that Richter's a maniac, too."

"In what way? Did you meet the guy? 'Cause he does seem a little nuts to me," Sheena said. Zelos smirked.

"No, I mean, you know how Professor Sage is a Ruin Maniac? Richter must be a Chosen maniac. When I met him earlier, he said he needed my Cruxis Crystal!"

"What's a Cruxis Crystal?" Emil asked.

"Oh! That's right. It's this jewel on my neck," Colette demonstrated. "Zelos has one, too, 'cause we're both Chosen Ones. Anyway! When he was trying to take it from me, I tripped and broke a fence. And you know what? Instead of leaving me there, Richter paid for the damage and even let me go! But he did say that the next time we met, he'd need to take it from me. He must be crazy about the Chosen!" When Colette was done with her story, everyone else had a wary look on their faces.

"… I don't… think that's… what…" Marta said hesitantly.

"No, no, she's got a point," Zelos quickly corrected. "I mean, Richter came after my Cruxis Crystal, too. He's looking for its power." He realized that he wasn't exactly ready to explain anything more about Richter. "Or, maybe he's just trying to pick up babes."

Marta giggled (mission accomplished. "Zelos, you're so flighty sometimes!"

"No, Marta, Zelos isn't flighty. He's 'shallow'," Colette explained, giving Zelos a big wink. Oh, she must have thought that "flighty" was referring to his wings, which neither of the kids knew about. It might have been a point of contention if "flighty" didn't mean something entirely different.

"Colette, I have no idea what you're talking about," Zelos stalled.

"But Professor Sage said it! She said you're like a wading pool. Professor Sage can't swim, remember? I think she means she likes Zelos!"

Sometimes Colette made absolutely no sense at all. "Ooookay, sure, I'm a shallow guy with obvious motives and I'm assuming Richter was chasing after you for that reason," Zelos said dismissively. A couple people laughed, and that was all the cover he needed. Thankfully, it was also time for dessert.

After dinner, Zelos showed the guests to their rooms. Since there were only two guest rooms, Colette and Marta took one and Regal and Emil took the other. His own room he gave to Sheena, and he would sleep on the couch in the living room. He figured if he distanced himself from the group, they wouldn't ask prying questions. And truthfully, he wasn't even in the mood to talk to a crowd at all. It was just too hard to keep up appearances anymore. The day and circumstances were exhausting.

Once he had checked on Seles, cleaned up, and put down some linens on the couch, he was resolved to sleep the problems away.

So, of course, someone had to wake him up just as he reached the brink of sleep.

"Hey."

He turned around to see Sheena in a bathrobe and her hair still wet from a shower, like a hazy memory. He couldn't believe she'd actually approach him looking like that. "… Hey," Zelos replied hesitantly. "Do you, ah, need something?"

Sheena smiled slyly. "What, did I catch you off-guard?"

"Tch. Come on. Seriously, why are you here?" he asked, his voice tired and acrid. "There are more blankets in the hallway closet. You know where all this stuff is. I'm trying to catch some shut-eye while I still can."

She lowered her eyes, almost guiltily. "You shouldn't be sleeping on the couch in your own house."

"I'd rather… If it means that you all are better rested to go grab the cores, it's fine with me. Go back upstairs," he said. He couldn't look at her with her hair like that. There was only one time she would let him see her with her hair down, and she wasn't going to let that happen again. Or was she? What was the deal?

"Well, I'll go, then. But… come with me?"

"Give me a break," Zelos sighed. "I don't know what you're trying to do."

"Zelos… Just come lie down with me, please?" she asked softly. "I'm thinkin' about a lot of things."

Very seriously, he paused. "Are we going to have sex? Is that what you want?"

"… I don't know."

"Because that's confusing for me."

"… We don't have to. Maybe I don't want to. Look, whatever happened, you're still my friend. I just… And being back here… I need someone who understands what's going through my head without me actually talking. You don't seem much in the mood for words, yourself. Just come lie down with me." She placed a hand on his shoulder. Almost automatically, his hand went up to cover hers. This wasn't a choice.

"Okay, hunny―er… Let's go before I think about it," he answered, hating how stupid he sounded.

He didn't think about it as he followed her up the stairs, nor the second set of stairs. He didn't think about it when he closed the door and locked it with a gentle click. He didn't even think about it as she let the robe fall from her shoulders, shaking out her damp hair with her hand. It was the natural cycle of things, wasn't it? Pick up where we left off, like always. To think would end the moment.

So he embraced her, he unspeaking and she letting a few tears dot his shoulder, skin to skin because this might be the last moment he ever had to pretend like they hadn't ever left that sunset so many months ago.

* * *

_The inevitable morning light cut through the fine gap between the curtains and Zelos stirred. He felt the warmth of the sheet underneath him and the cool air on his skin. And he knew that if he turned his head, he would see a mess of black hair. Ah, he was always awake first._

_Without wanting to wake her, he gently rolled from his back to his right side, caring not for how his arm would sting with pins and needles. He sighed and curled his left arm around her, put his forehead against the back of her head with his nose at the nape of her neck. He breathed. Lloyd be damned if he tried to take this away from him._

_Sheena took a noisy breath in, which signaled her consciousness. Please don't move._

_She did move, but it was only to press herself into his chest. They both breathed and he could feel her blinking, looking around._

" _Hnnn," she hummed softly._

" _Shh," Zelos chided, and squeezed her closer._

" _Ugh―can't breathe!"_

" _Not even sorry about it."_

" _Zelos, come on."_

" _Fiiiiine," he conceded, releasing his iron grip. Instead, he brushed her skin with the back of his hand. Was it the roughness of battle making her seem so soft in comparison or was she just that magically smooth?_

_She turned her head to the side. "You should go."_

_His forehead began to prickle with sweat. "Yeah, I know."_

" _I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea," she sighed. "Especially you."_

" _I… know. I'll go." Shifting to sit, he kissed her shoulder. But she sat up, too, and gently kissed his lips. Just once._

" _Go," she urged, "before I change my mind."_

" _But Sheeeeeeenaaaaaaaa…" He looked down to his lap where a typical morning problem had arisen. Sharply, she rolled her eyes._

" _Don't push your luck."_

_He sighed. He had to accept it. "All right. Well, good luck. And don't let Tokunaga serve you breakfast," he added as an afterthought. Then, "I, uh… I'll miss you."_

" _You too. Maybe."_

_And after he left, she'd deny that night had ever happened._


	8. All I Can Feel

Seles had been sleeping through the evening and night, and so had woken up early in a fever-breaking sweat. Tokunaga had retired to the butlers' quarters a few hours before, not expecting that Seles could have the energy to wake so soon. But she was awake and bored. She reached for the cord behind the bedside table and pulled it to alert one of the staff. Within a few minutes, someone knocked at her door.

"Lady Seles?" The voice belonged not to Tokunaga, but to Sebastian. He entered and closed the door quietly.

"Good morning, Sebastian. You're up early!" she noticed.

"But of course. At my age, I hardly need as much rest," Sebastian replied. "What may I do for you? Are you feeling better?"

Seles smiled through her tired face. "I'm fine. It's getting easier to handle the symptoms. But I was hoping maybe you'd have the newspaper?"

He produced the very newspaper in question from his left hand, which had been behind his back until that moment. "What kind of caretaker would I be if I forgot your most consistent request?" He grinned kindly and passed the paper to her.

"Thank you, Sebastian. Oh… And Sebastian? You wouldn't happen to know if my irresponsible brother left already, would you?" Seles questioned.

"I can assure you that he has yet to leave, as I have not heard Lady Colette thus far this morning."

"Oh… good. Well, I'm not hungry yet, so arrange for my regular brunch, if you would. I hope to go downstairs by myself."

"As is your command," Sebastian assured, bowing and taking his leave.

Seles unfolded the newspaper and a slip of paper fell out onto her bed. The upward-facing side had her name on it. "For me?" she thought aloud. She turned the paper just to make sure that it wasn't a marker of the newspaper so that she would read it before Zelos.

' _Seles, I'm glad to hear you're safe after the kidnapping. I hope we can meet again soon. Maybe I can teach you how to play the harp, since I know there isn't much to do around Meltokio right now. Besides, I want to make sure nobody kidnaps you again. Get well soon. –Pacco de Laurentin.'_

Seles blushed in spite of herself. Pacco? Why, he was the guy at the party who was making a fool of himself in her presence. It was the first time she'd received a note from a man other than her brother, or summons from the high officials. Although she wondered where he'd heard that she was kidnapped (it was an undercover affair), she was flattered and happy that he had contacted her. It was nice that someone was reaching out to her. She set the letter aside affectionately, then read the headlines.

' _Cruxis Secrets Revealed! Vanguard Tells All'_

"Ugh," Seles muttered.

' _Fashion Tips from Sylvarant,'_ ' _Every Dog Gets Its Name; Shelters for Abandoned Animals,'_ ' _Monster Forecast_ ': all were titles similar to recent publishing. Aside from tidbits about the Vanguard that were mostly fake, the newspaper's news was getting really lousy. Seles put down the paper and reclaimed the note she left on the bed.

Pacco… but what about Lloyd?

She drifted back into a light sleep.

"YO!" Seles heard very sharply outside her door. She startled awake and began to hear the background noise of other people stirring and general bustling.

Zelos didn't bother to knock after he announced himself. Rather, he entered as though trumpets were urging him forward. "Sis! You up?" he said.

"Yeah, I was up earlier. I'm glad to see you're saying goodbye to me." Zelos smirked at her, more relaxed than he'd been in a while. "Just because the  _last_  time you left without saying goodbye you tried to get yourself killed," Seles said, flustered.

"Aw, you wound me. And here I got all those people to save you…" He leaned up against the doorframe.

"I think at least Lloyd would have come to my rescue."

"Yeah, let's not forget he was after your core. You don't know if he'd have come otherwise," Zelos noted. He observed her face. "You doing okay, by the way?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I even read the paper this morning already! Don't worry about me."

"… You left the goddamn glass one at home, didn't you."

"I… what?"

"Don't 'what' me, missy. Hell, Regal told me that he thought you'd handed over your Exsphere already and asked why you still had your key crest," Zelos accused. Seles's face flushed with color.

"You have to understand, Zelos. I don't like pretending some days," she mumbled. "Feels like a crutch."

"I'm going away for a while again. I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't care," he replied, approaching her, "but you  _need_  to be wearing that fake every single day I'm gone. Okay?"

"I'll be fine! I have Tokunaga watching over me all the time now," Seles protested.

"Oh, really? Where is he now? Downstairs with his tail between his legs from the big screw up and asleep on the job?" Zelos sighed. "Besides, I want to conduct an experiment. I have to know what's up with the Cruxis Crystal's connection to us both."

Seles crossed her arms. "As long as you stop going on and on about this stupid illness. And you have to promise to tell me why it's hurting us these days," she resolved.

"Cruxis my heart and hope to die," Zelos said. He leaned in to kiss the very top of her head. "Okay, kiddo. I'm out. See you around." He turned for the door, then remembered to say: "Oh, and you might wanna get back to that Pacco kid."

"Wh-what?! ZO-ZO! Don't you DARE read through my mail!" Seles shouted angrily. She attempted to throw the newspaper at him, but by the time she had folded it up enough for distance, he had run from the room with a goofy, winning grin on his face. Some things never changed.

The noise Seles had heard from downstairs was really just the cooks and Sebastian cleaning up after Colette and Zelos's quick breakfast. Everyone else was still sleeping, and Zelos intended to leave before they got up. Before Sheena, at least.

Colette was standing cheerily at the bottom of the stairs once Zelos had hopped down them. She was a morning person and always had been.

"What was that noise, Zelos?" she asked.

"Oh, Seles was up so I decided to say hello, and wouldn't you know, she just screamed at me…" Zelos smiled widely.

"Did you say anything mean to her?" Colette affected a concerned tone in her voice, as though Zelos could have possibly done real harm to her.

"Nah, don't worry about it. She's all good. Wanna head out?"

"You're going with me?" Colette asked, confused.

"I could use the company."

"Then, sure! Let's get going!" she agreed. She picked up a rucksack and handed Zelos a bag of provisions. The pair left quietly out of the east entrance, and the grandfather clock struck seven.

"I'm so glad we're going to be traveling together again!" Colette said quietly once they'd left the property. "It's been so long since I've seen you, even though I know you and Sheena saw Lloyd at the house when you were on your vacation. I have to admit, I was jealous! I thought I was gonna see you guys, too…"

"Aw, you're making me feel bad. I wanted to see you, too," Zelos sighed. "But I think you understand why I couldn't stay in one place for too long."

"I'm glad we're no longer in that kind of danger. Maybe we ought to thank the Vanguard from taking the spotlight off us!"

"Yeah, but first, we gotta stop them from, y'know, mutilating everyone with a mana cannon," Zelos pointed out.

"Oh, you're right. I can't wait to go back to Iselia. Did you make sure to get that audience spot with the King?"

"Actually, cool thing about this crisis: I can waltz in whenever I need to. And with both of us being here, it might make it easier to make a case against the Vanguard. We're both clearly the good guys of our countries."

Although, when they passed by a gardener at the Grand Hall's entrance, they were shot a very nasty look that implied neither was a good guy, nor, in fact, part of a country at all. Zelos brushed it off and continued walking, hoping that Colette hadn't seen the disgust on the gardener's face. There was little to no way that she had read that article a little while back by that Friedrich Callon guy regarding just how Meltokio felt about him.

The armored guards let the Chosen Ones through to the King's chamber, where they were met with not the King himself, but his daughter, the princess Hilda. She was pacing as though anxious over something as she addressed them. "Chosen One Zelos and Sylvarant's Chosen," Hilda said in her usual even-toned lilt. "I wonder what has called for this early visit?"

"Your Highness, it's come to our recent attention that the Vanguard is, in fact, stronger than ever and they're planning to procure the mana cannon," Zelos replied.

"I expect that this is the same destructive force seen during the Regeneration?"

"Yes, ma'am, the same. It's located on an island near Iselia, Sylvarant, so it's within their reach," Colette said.

Hilda stopped pacing and crossed her arms daintily. "Are we—that is to say, is Tethe'alla in imminent danger?"

Colette and Zelos shared a nervous look before the latter responded. "It really could happen at any time. Plus, they've got their eye on the Church of Martel, which, as you may or may not know, is attached to this building. If they get a hold of that cannon, we lose our capital, our nobles, and our system of government. We perish. They win and start some weirdo dynasty that they believe we're preventing them from having."

Hilda's concern caused her to sit. "Oh, by the goddess."

"Would you be able to get the Church's soldiers to protect this city as well as send troops out to the major Vanguard uprisings?" Colette requested.

Hilda paused. "While it's true that we have much more organization among our ranks, it might be difficult to match the numbers of the Vanguard," she said somberly. "Although Father knows a great deal more about the army numbers at the moment. We've had a hard time recruiting and before we could pass the legislature on the draft, all those problems with the Exspheres happened. I was truly hoping we wouldn't have to resort to using all our forces on the Vanguard."

"All due respect, milady," Zelos continued, "it would be wise to notify your absent father as soon as possible. We're gonna need backup and we're going to need it faster than it takes for them to wipe us out. I'm suggesting within three days."

Hilda raised a gloved hand to her lips in contemplation. "I suppose if there is no other way. I shall inform him upon his return from council with His Holiness the Pope."

Colette glanced at Zelos. "Wait. If we're the ones telling you about our need for support right now…"

"Hilda, why are they meeting at such an early hour?" Zelos finished quickly.

The Princess paused at the Chosen's lack of formality. "As Chosens, you do, I suppose, have the right to be informed of the matter already at hand. We are facing an errant criminal in the ranks of the Papal Knights."

Zelos smirked toward Colette. "Surprising."

"This man is claiming to be a Papal Knight to gain access to our information. He could be a terrorist, as the evidence we have from him points toward an allegiance with none other than Sir Lloyd Irving Bud," Hilda concluded.

Colette flushed and yelped out, "Lloyd? Oh no!"

"It's a lead," Zelos said. "Your Highness, has a location been secured on the kid?"

"I myself am not aware of the details."

Zelos shook his head and looked to Colette. "We leave for Iselia. Have a soldier intercept us there with that information and please don't forget to rally those troops."

"But Zelos," Colette interrupted. "If we wait, we'll find out right now where he is!"

"My dear, sweet angel, if we wait that long and they figure out how to work that cannon, the first ones to die are your family." The girl looked down with understanding.

"… We'll go."

Princess Hilda cleared her throat politely and rose from her seat. "Chosens, I bid you luck on your journey and I will be certain to aid you as best I can," she said. Zelos bowed deeply and Colette curtseyed with practiced accord. The pair walked backward with lowered heads until they passed the last guard, as was custom for when ladies were in attendance at court. It was not until they exited earshot of the palace guards altogether that Zelos muttered, "Shit," and released a loud sigh.

* * *

Colette took to the skies with no difficulty despite her wings being so illuminated in the daylight. Zelos had a bit of a problem getting off the ground and found himself having to jump-start before a difficult ascent.

As they soared above the new and unfamiliar Symphonian surface, Zelos's mind flooded with implication. Somebody buddying up with Lloyd meant that he had help in obtaining those cores. That meant he likely had even more support. It made attacks on towns more possible, if no longer probable based on Decus's involvement. But where were the allegiances? Lloyd and the Church, or at least what he believed to be the Church? Lloyd and the rest of the Vanguard? Lloyd and just one random dude, or perhaps even groups of supporters? There was no possible way to know how long this had been going on, either. Nor was there any way to know what else the Church and King were keeping from him, the Chosen of their country, aside from getting Hilda to spill the beans.

Now, of course, there was the matter of whether or not Orochi and his clan knew what was going on, and furthermore whether they'd told anyone about it. But judging from the way that Orochi didn't just magically poof himself right on into Zelos's room in the morning, Zelos assumed that Sheena probably didn't know either. Perhaps it was a matter wound tightly between Church and state. As the vice grip of war advanced on Tethe'alla, every city began to get more territorial. Zelos suspected Meltokio didn't exactly think much of Mizuho from the start.

Ah, what the hell was wrong with Mizuhoans anyway, Zelos pondered. At least that  _one_.

When Colette veered southeast to circle the town, she had to shout rather emphatically to grab Zelos's attention. "Zelos? ZELOS! We're here, sleepyhead!"

"Ah!" he exclaimed, jolting his flight pattern a bit. He followed the blonde head of hair that dropped rather quickly to the town below, though he had to take a bit of a slower pace. Must have been getting too old for this, or something. He veered down and landed on his feet at the edge of the fence surrounding the Brunels' home.

"Come on," Colette urged, hopping up the wooden stairs and over to the door. She knocked, which surprised Zelos. Was there not an open-door policy at her house? Or was he just so incredibly lazy that all he had to do was stroll on into his mansion and Sebastian would obey his every whim?

The door opened to reveal a hunched-over woman, blonde hair graying with age.

"Granny Phaidra!" Colette exclaimed, embracing her kin warmly. "Where's Dad?" She rushed into the house.

"Yo, Phaij!"

"Why, Master Wilder, what a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting you," Phaidra welcomed. She grinned at his face like it was the handsomest she'd seen in her life. Colette, on the other hand, quickly turned her head and looked down. "Please, make yourself at home."

Zelos followed Colette into the living room, where she greeted her father, Frank. Phaidra still had a rather expectant look on her face, as though the arrival of the two of them together had some intimate significance. "Sorry, but this is unfortunately not going to be a pleasant-surprise kind of visit," he announced.

"Daddy, Granny, we have some really important news. It's about the Vanguard, and we might be in danger right now," Colette warned. She took her tiny grandmother by the arm and guided her to the couch.

"If you recall," Zelos began, "the Regeneration group stayed here one night a couple years ago, kind of out of the blue. We were working on destroying the Tree's carnage with the mana cannon on the island nearby. Apparently, that didn't get destroyed in the uniting of the worlds and now the Vanguard is trying to get a hold of it."

"Is this where you've been, Colette?" Frank asked his daughter. "The mana cannon?"

As the two shared a glance, Zelos felt oddly left out of something.

"Well, trying to stop the Vanguard," Colette said gently.

"Ahem, hate to rush you, but what do you recommend we do to protect the town?" Zelos found a portion of bare wall to lean on while he crossed his arms. "I have a feeling the Mayor wouldn't be the smartest guy to go to at the moment."

"Is there no way to disable it?" Phaidra pondered.

Zelos grimaced. The one person who would know the most about that would be Sheena herself, and she was off messing around with the kids. Or perhaps Yuan, but he guessed that even if Yuan knew the answer it would be nugatory. "I'm… kind of sure there's not, but I'm no expert. If there are ex-Renegades in the Vanguard, I think they would have stopped the operation if it had no point," he presumed.

Frank looked dumbfounded. "How did Raine neglect to tell us this?"

"Raine doesn't know," Colette answered. "Marta was the one who told us, and she's ex-Vanguard."

Phaidra sighed. "Oh, dear. I'm not sure what we should do."

Colette stared into the distance for a moment. "Wait a second… Marta said they need Ratatosk's power to actually fire it, didn't she?"

Zelos beamed. "Ah, my brilliant little angel, that's right! I can't believe I'd forgotten that part of the equation."

"I'm assuming this means they don't have it yet," Frank asserted.

"They don't," Zelos said. "But they could any minute now. Not that I have no faith in Marta or her partner, Emil, but you ought to know that it's a possibility."

"We could… evacuate the townspeople," Phaidra responded.

"I don't know if that's necessary if we aren't aware of a threat," Frank said. He paced over to the kitchen table and rested his hands upon it.

"Dear, how are we supposed to know if there is a threat?"

"I know!" Colette chimed in, looking expectantly at Zelos. "Why don't we have the spy network send someone?"

"That's…" Zelos trailed off. He immediately regretted not having said something to Hilda about Sylvarant needing protection. To be honest, it'd slipped his mind. There was something upsetting about the way that the King wasn't there and it rather occupied him. Even so, if Hilda had acquiesced to aiding the little town of Iselia, she'd still have to convince her father that it was worth it to put aside the two countries' differences. And the army wouldn't be ready until the latest possible moment, he was sure. Mizuho's network would probably be the most efficient way, and yet there was little to no way Zelos could be sure of their helping him. After all, it was Sheena who sent Orochi requesting Zelos's aid and not Zelos asking Mizuho for their help. One had to separate Sheena from being the sole representative of Mizuho and Zelos wasn't sure if he could count on her town to trust his request.

"I'm just not sure if they'd help us out right now."

"Oh, come on, Zelos! They're a small town like us. I'm sure they can understand the situation. We can't just take on the Vanguard by ourselves," Colette countered.

"Yeah, but… they've got other crap to do. Who knows what they could be up to? And besides, how am I supposed to get a hold of them?"

Colette's face became puzzled. "Why don't you just ask Sheena?"

Frustrated, Zelos turned to face the door. "Look," he huffed, "Let's not worry about that right now. We should just issue a warning to the town, then. Can we do that?" He turned back around to Frank.

"I... suppose. I'll see what I can do to talk to the Mayor," Frank offered. "But…" He turned to Colette, searching. "Colette, I missed you. Where have you been?"

"Daddy…"

Colette went to her father and embraced him while Phaidra looked on with what appeared to be teary eyes. It was obvious that something had happened that barred Colette from being with her family, but Zelos couldn't be certain of what.

"Hey, um, I'm gonna let you guys have a little time together. Why don't I meet up with the Mayor?" Zelos suggested, hovering near the door.

Colette looked up at him. "Are you sure? He might not take kindly to Tethe'allans…"

"He doesn't take kindly to Lloyd," Zelos remarked. Again, Colette had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. "Oh, and don't worry-I've got the perfect disguise."

"Please join us for dinner, Chosen of Mana," Phaidra called. Zelos nodded and bowed before he left the house.

Perhaps it was a bit prejudiced to rely on, but the simplicity of the Sylvaranti villagers made it easy for Zelos to disguise himself. Why, when he'd been travelling with Sheena all those months ago, all he had to do was change his clothes and most people in town wouldn't have a clue of who he was. He took the headband from his forehead and wrapped it around his hair in a high ponytail. Bam. New person. New mysteriously handsome person, he added in thought.

And instead of changing his clothes, he simply removed his outer vest and gloves and put them in the bushes near Colette's house. The last detail was the removal of his Cruxis Crystal, which was something he was loath to do even for a moment in case Seles should encounter distress. But it had to be done. There was nowhere on his upper body he could place it where it wouldn't be noticed. The other thing about Exspheres was that they were rendered useless unless they were placed in the vicinity of one's fighting limbs. With the exception of Regal, everyone else had theirs on their upper body. So, Zelos pocketed the key crest and Crystal and set off for the Mayor's house.

* * *

It was sunset when Zelos allowed himself to impose upon Colette's family again. Iselia was, however, a beautiful landscape to wander in the meantime. He knocked on the door and was welcomed by the angel.

"You're back-your hair!" Colette exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to take this out." Zelos reached back for the headband holding his hair, then replaced it onto his forehead. "I told you I had a disguise!"

"I thought you meant like that mask you had once, or a hat, or something. Were you able to meet with the Mayor?"

"Hah. That guy's a riot. First of all, he didn't recognize me. Second of all, he claims to have already known about this stuff, but doesn't plan to do anything about it. It's a wonder how he became Mayor at all…" Zelos paused as he searched for the Cruxis Crystal in his pocket. The rounded edges of the key crest made it easier for him to hide it in his fist as he brought it back to the top of his chest. It would be unwise to draw too much attention to the fact that he hadn't been wearing it the whole time. "So, in his stupidity, he told me he couldn't…"

When he suddenly stopped talking, Colette said, "Couldn't what?"

Zelos's eyes went wide as he staggered back, the wind knocked out of him.

"Zelos! What's wrong?!"

He gasped. "What the-?! Don't-" He collapsed to a crouch and waved Colette back.

The pain was sudden, consuming. And instead of just the usual heart-attack punch, this time the Crystal infiltrated his head with a searing white bolt. "Sh-" When he tried to breathe in, there was no space for his lungs. God dammit, if this was Yuan trying to contact him-

It was seconds before the pins and needles rushed through his limbs and he fell back.

"Zelos!"

Colette reacted immediately and caught Zelos before his head hit the ground. Not knowing what else to do, she bent over him and began to pray. Martel being a goddess or not, invoking the ones that created his Crystal was the only thing she could think of.

When Zelos came to moments later, breath shallow, he said, "D'y'got mana leaf herb tea?"

"Wh-what?" Colette said, dumbfounded. "Zelos, what just happened? Do you need a healer?"

"Nah, it just-" he coughed lightly, "-feels like I have Chronic Angelus Crystallis Inofficium, or something."

The blonde girl smiled sympathetically. "So it's definitely your Crystal, then…?"

Zelos nodded. "Pretty sure. I'd take it out, but it seems like now when I switch it…"

"-There's a reaction," Colette finished.

"W… wait, you don't…?" Zelos studied her face. Colette was never the brightest bulb on the strand, so her conclusion was unexpected to say the least. Unless she had been suffering, too. And in that case, was it really the connection between Zelos and Seles's Exspheres, or was Colette's involved as well?

"I've had a little bit of pain here and there," she admitted. "But I was so scared. I've never seen that reaction before. Is that just because you took off your Crystal?"

"I think so. But the thing also spazzed when Yuan was trying to use my mana signature to call me to him," he replied. He leaned up on his elbows. "And then, well, it could also be Seles's body responding to the effects of wearing the Cruxis Crystal for so long. They're connected somehow and I still don't understand…" He trailed off into another brief coughing fit.

"Come on," Colette said. "Let's get you inside and fed, and then Granny Phaidra can make some of that tea."

She helped him up and showed him through the door. Inside, Phaidra sat him down and fed him the Pescatore that Colette had prepared for dinner. Frank was curt, but kind.

Part of Zelos wondered if he resented the lies that Remiel spread about being Colette's actual father. Zelos laughed off ninety-nine percent of the schemes that the Angels came up with to toy with Sylvarant, although that was before he actually befriended some of its people and realized what they were doing with human ranch control was horrific. It had just seemed so absurd. Of course Frank was Colette's actual father. Could they not see the resemblance? Even Chosen Ones had to come from mortal parents. Once immortal, all bets were off. Unless, of course, you chose to be like Kratos and take off your Cruxis Crystal to have children.

As Zelos contemplated the meal with slow, appreciative bites, he thought about Colette's answer. She felt a little pain, huh. If the two of them were fully angels with functional Cruxis Crystals, did this mean their bodies were about to stop growing? Was that what  _her_  pain involved? Yuan still hadn't aged a day. There were more things to be researched about the Cruxis Crystals with the only solution being talking to someone who worked with Presea, but those scientists might have already been executed.

"Are you done, my dear boy?"

Zelos snapped out of his thoughts at the warm voice of Phaidra, who was looking to tend to his empty plate.

"Ah, yeah, I'll get that. Please, let me clean up," Zelos said hurriedly. He rose from the table and began to clear the settings. Phaidra protested in vain, as the Chosen had his mind set on doing the dishes anyway. There was something so calming about it. The concentration even slowed the shaking of his hands after the Crystal's episode.

Afterward, Zelos couldn't protest the guest bed, and sat down on the edge of it before gracelessly flopping backward. He closed his eyes for a few moments before there was a knock on the door.

"Zelos?" It was Colette, meek and tired.

"Come on in," he casually replied, keeping his eyes closed. He heard the door open, but she didn't enter.

"I just wanted to say, there's towels in the bathroom and extra blankets in the chest in the corner. Goodnight."

"Wait a tic." Zelos forced himself to sit up. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure. What is it?"

"Any reason you don't want to talk about Lloyd in front of your family?" he pitched.

Colette's face warped uncomfortably. "Oh, I don't know if I…"

"What really happened between you two before you left?" Zelos asked quietly. "I hate to pry, but I've got some ideas about why our Crystals are acting up, and I'd really like to know."

Colette's smile dimmed a bit but her eyes did not shy away from the truth. "He changed. Well, I changed, too," she added thoughtfully.

"Hunting Exspheres? Sometimes journeys can bring out the worst in two people," he mused.

"Well, it wasn't just that," Colette admitted. "We started out fine together. We did a lot of traveling and dealing with less-than-noble dealers. It was kind of hard because… like Seles, there were some other half-elves that weren't faring too well with the Regeneration. Mostly on the Tethe'alla side. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them."

Zelos half-smiled. Colette was always kind but he didn't expect her to grow up to be a little wiser, too. He'd always told her that "Chosens stick together." This time, it wasn't just about proximity. She was becoming aware of problems in the world rather than in a small hometown. Truthfully, she was lucky to be so ignorant.

"See, that's what I mean," Zelos said. He went back to lying down on his back, arms over his head. "You're told all your lives that half-elves are this or that, then it starts affecting the people you love. I'd say you should do something about it, but I, the handsome and talented AND altruistic Chosen of Tethe'alla, have already taken most of the hatred over the law changes." Colette smiled sadly. "You're welcome for that," he added.

"I know," she said. "I know. You're one of the bravest people I know, Zelos. Unfortunately, I wasn't brave enough. I wasn't brave enough to follow Lloyd as he kept taking them because I knew that there were people suffering. At the same time, I had seen all of the human ranches and knew how the Exspheres were made, and I can't really support that, either."

"It's a tough balance," Zelos consoled, sitting up again. He motioned for Colette to sit next to him, which she did almost gratefully.

"I keep wondering what I'm supposed to do." Colette's voice broke and became softer. "How am I supposed to act as a Chosen of the United World? I want to be the best example I can be, but there are just so many people to take care of."

Zelos sat back a little, trying to give Colette the emotional space she looked like she needed. Hadn't he been there before? Although, it was his prerogative to take the easiest way out of all situations and he couldn't say he was trying as hard.

"I guess one of the things we don't have to worry about anymore is status," Zelos said at length. "I mean, I still have some little obligations here and there to society, but for the most part, you and I don't have power over entire worlds anymore. Hopefully the democracy in Sylvarant and the monarchy in Tethe'alla will start to be blamed instead of us, soon."

"But will we ever be safe? Can we ever rest?"

"… That's another thing I'm hoping for."

"I…" began Colette, actively fighting back tears, "I just want to grow old and have a family in peace, like anyone else."

Zelos outstretched his arms. "C'mere, you." Colette sheepishly stumbled into the embrace and held tightly. "I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to do that. As they say, being the Chosen means someone ELSE'S world will end, not your own. And since we're no longer competing, I'd say we don't have much to worry about. And for everything else, there's well-paid security. Sound good?"

She nodded her head wordlessly.

"And… about Lloyd," Zelos offered. Colette didn't refuse, so he kept talking. "None of us is really sure what his deal is right now. He may have changed some of his goals, but deep down, I have a feeling that he still cares about you."

Colette buried her face in Zelos's shoulder, tears mopped up by his hair and shirt. "I know. That's why it's so hard. How can we go back to the way we were?"

Zelos breathed. "I'm not sure if any of us can go back to the way we were." A flash of teeth in the smile of a girl so far away. "But would we even want to?"

"Maybe you're right, Zelos. We can't. But that doesn't mean I won't keep trying for a better future," Colette promised. That was her: always optimistic. And Zelos had to admit that sometimes it was the only thing keeping any of them going. He kissed the top of her head sweetly and released her from the embrace.

The crickets were chirping as though the world had never been sewn back together.

"Say, Zelos," Colette began, staring off into the night. "Why is it that… Lloyd, way long ago, he said you visited and I missed it. He said you and Sheena were together. What was that for?"

Her innocence made him chortle. "You really don't read the paper, do you? I mean, not that this was in the paper, but I've run into a lot of trouble. Just like you."

"Just like me," she agreed.

"Except I got into the politics. And the opposition, they were about this close to killing me that last time, so the King sent me away specifically to throw the terrorists off my trail. And I… couldn't go alone. Couldn't bear it."

"So Sheena went with you?" Colette asked. "But if she was so busy with her duties as an ambassador, how did she have time?"

"Tch…" Zelos absentmindedly reached for his Cruxis Crystal, tracing the pattern he knew so well without really knowing it at all. "I dunno, she… made time? She wasn't really as busy as she let on, and I was pretty much splitting the role with her."

"So you were traveling out… out by the fields?"

"Yeah, although I didn't realize you guys were living out in the middle of nowhere!" Zelos laughed. "What adorable bumpkins you made. Did Lloyd tell you I even worked in the field the day we were here?"

Colette's eyebrows shot straight up. "What? No way! You're so refined!"

"Mmm, glad you think so, but he wouldn't have any of it. We went off to be manly men harvesting the corn. Sheena, she stayed behind and cooked like some sort of domestic…"

"Oh, and she fixed my apron! I guess it didn't look that great to begin with." She smiled sheepishly.

"I remember that. It was a… Y'know, it probably would have been better if you were there," Zelos admitted.

Colette grabbed his arm excitedly. "I knew it! Ha! It was one of 'those' trips!"

"What? I don't know what you mean by that," Zelos said, and looked away. Of course he knew what she meant. The honeymoon, while only recently discovered by Sylvaranti, was a concept that could apply to couples who were married either in public or elopement. There was a surge of honeymoon travelling after the Regeneration took place since people were just plain happy to be alive (and now there were plenty of honeymoon babies). He couldn't tell if Colette was trying to make a cute joke or was actually convinced that Sheena and he had…

Suddenly, Colette ripped off Zelos's long glove by the snaps. "Is this why you wear gloves? To hide your ring from any of the 'hunnies' that give you free stuff?!"

But they both stared at the unoccupied ring finger contemplatively.

Zelos sighed. "No, it wasn't one of 'those' kind of trips…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I just… here, let me," Colette said, redoing the glove all the way up his arm.

He was surprised at how not-annoyed he was by her ignorance. After all, he supposed that she didn't ask to be left out of the loop. "Thanks. Well. I know. I almost wanted it to be, and in the end… we had some nice moments. But I keep wondering, even now, if that stupid trip meant anything to her as much as it meant to me."

Colette stepped back. "You can't know for sure, but for what it's worth, I think she was glad to see you."

"You've… you've gotta be joking, right? You saw how she acted, regardless of whether-regardless of whatever happened in the past," Zelos backstepped.

"I know better. Chosens stick together. You're the only one who knows that Lloyd and I were trying to build a life together. And now I'm the only one that knows how you really feel about Sheena," Colette replied with a smile. "Besides, I think I heard you talking in your room this morning."

Zelos actively tried to redirect the blush that rose in his cheeks. "It's not like she cares about me, anyway."

"Stop trying to be so dramatic and cool, Zelos. You're not Kratos! Maybe it's just hard for you to see right now." The crickets took over momentarily. "I mean, Lloyd's being secretive, too." Colette chewed her thoughts some more. "Maybe they're working on a project together."

"That's what I'm worried about," Zelos grumbled. "You know… Sheena always had a thing for Lloyd, so when she finally started paying attention to me I thought she'd given up. Because it's obvious, at least to me, that Lloyd loves  _you_."

Colette frowned slightly.

"But she doesn't get it, either way. Y'know,  _I_ just want that simple life, to be able to settle down, as ridiculous as that sounds," Zelos quietly confessed. "I'm sick of putting up those walls. You get it. If these crazy kids would just stop running away from us… Hell, we could have a double-wedding! It'd be fun, drinks and dancing for a week straight…"

Colette became quiet and searched his eyes. "Your sister sure is lucky to have you. And Sheena, too. I think you're smarter than you act sometimes!"

Zelos smiled, grateful. "I'm lucky to have someone who understands what I'm going through, and that she's as cheerful and kind as this little angel."

"There's the Zelos I know. Some things never change!"

"My, you're sassy. It must be your bedtime, brat," Zelos condescended with jocund. He glanced back at the illuminated doorway. "And sleep tight. We might have another errand tomorrow."

"O-okay," Colette hesitated. "But get some rest, please? I can't handle you passing out again."

Zelos nodded and waved her away with his hand. "Goooodnight, goodnight."

As Zelos eventually drifted into sleep, he weighed the danger he and Colette were in. The Vanguard was probably disorganized enough that if a faction of them arrived in Iselia with intent to take over the cannon, a well-placed attack would quell them. But he couldn't help but wonder why, if mana was no longer being pushed and pulled between the now-countries, the Vanguard still thought the mana would be enough to fire the cannon. Dormancy of Summon Spirits assured that even if ex-Renegades  _could_  summon, that nothing would come of it. Maybe it wasn't as dangerous as they'd thought? But then, Ratatosk was still a wild card. The face of Emil burned into his mind the way that upon exiting a room, he suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place.

He awoke to a SMASH and a fwap of something square on his face.

"Ahh!" a voice that was clearly Colette's squeaked.

Zelos threw the offending object across the room. "My faaaace!" He snapped his eyes open and saw Colette face-down on the floor. Ah, some things never change.

Across the room was a rolled newspaper, now wrinkled significantly.

"Colette, 'zis the  _New World Times_?" Zelos pressed, sitting straight up. The girl slowly stood.

"Ouch-um, yeah!" she said, rubbing her cheek. "When I saw it on the doorstep just now, I knew I had to wake you up. Sorry that I tripped!"

Zelos snorted. "I don't know how you manage to do it. What's it say?" He was in the process of picking up the paper but wanted to hear her opinion nevertheless.

"There's been an attack in Flanoir. Just last night," she replied. "Vanguard."

"… Dammit." Zelos skimmed the front page's "Flanoir" article and his heart sank to see his country's village in trouble, snow or not.

"What do we do?" Colette urged.

"… We should go."

"To Flanoir?"

"… Where else would we go?"

"I thought we were going to look for Lloyd," Colette admitted. Zelos tried not to sneer.

"I thought  _they_  were going to look for Lloyd. Doesn't that align with getting the cores better? And anyway, we're totally ambassadors and you should let the people of Flanoir know that Sylvarant cares."

"… I guess you're right. I'll go let Granny and Dad know."

* * *

Zelos knew how much it pained Colette to have to leave her family, but he knew from Seles's survival that everything would be okay. It did, however, pain both of them to return to the somewhat sleepless pattern of one-night, one-location. Off to Flanoir it was.

Phaidra insisted that they bring along heavy coats despite the obvious warming of the region. From a birds' eye view, Flanoir had begun to brown and wilt from the center out toward the tundra. Unlike Triet, it hadn't transformed to a wonderland version of its opposite season. It was mud and rain and all of the discouragements of fledgling spring. In the end, Zelos was glad for the homey Iselian garment, for its hood would both conceal his distinctive hair and protect it from the rain.

While Colette went to speak with the Mayor, Zelos headed off to the only place he suspected might not be a waste of his time: the accessory shop in the northern district. Luckily, Flanoir was a city in which he still had allies. This particular shop, owned by a guy named Mr. Penguin, was the one that helped the Regeneration group on their first journey. Without Mr. Penguin's specialty gloves, they never would have been able to use Celsius's Tear to freeze the Ice Temple. Nobody knew as much about accessories as Mr. Penguin did. As such, Zelos figured that he might have had a history with Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals, which could often be mistaken for true jewels.

"Yo!" he announced, taking off the hood and wiping his boots on the small rug just inside the door. Mr. Penguin looked up and caught the glance of the Chosen.

"Welcome! We sell only the finest accessories and gems," Mr. Penguin greeted. "Although, you might wanna shut the door, sonny, they're still on watch for another Vanguard attack."

"I think we're fine now. Although, I'm a little hurt that you don't remember me, gramps!"

Mr. Penguin inspected Zelos from head to toe, then back to his head. "Chosen One!" he gasped and hastily bowed.

"Please, don't worry about the formal junk," Zelos said. "I'm here to ask a coupla questions."

Mr. Penguin stayed bowed. "Oh, no, I simply must apologize."

"What did  _you_  do?" Zelos asked suspiciously. "Unless you're behind these attacks, or something ridiculous."

"It might be related. Here, let's go to the storeroom so we can chat," the man offered.

Zelos looked to the three other wandering shoppers, then back to Mr. Penguin. These people were just buying cooling scarves and knockoff gels. A flag shot straight up in his mind; he'd been in too many surprise terrorist attacks in the last year to be able to trust even a proven ally who suddenly recommends privacy for a simple conversation.

"I think we're okay to stay here," he suggested.

"Chosen, I…" The older man kept looking at the ground. "My son, he's the one that sold the Glacies core and ended up endangering your sister. I apologize profoundly from the entirety of my soul!"

What a gentle man-tearing up like that over a little miscommunication. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm actually kind of glad that we were able to get more information. Aw, gramps-!"

Mr. Penguin had turned away, ashamed. "I must make it up to you. I know not a lot of people support your sister, but, well… My wife, she was the same way before we moved here. Cold did 'er in…"

"Y-you've gotta be joking, right?" Zelos exclaimed. "I don't mean to pry, but does that mean she ever came in contact with an..." He decided to lower his voice just in case. "An Exsphere? I mean, that's why Seles got sick and captured, is, it's because she hasn't been wearing one," he explained in a whisper.

Mr. Penguin turned to face him, eyes still glistening with a hint of tragedy. "She... did? I mean, I… I can't go into detail, but I am aware of certain qualities of Exspheres, if it's the Chosen asking and not the Church."

"It's not the Church. If you're looking to make anything up to me, you can do so with information," Zelos settled. "So, how much do you know?"

Mr. Penguin's eyes scoured the customers. "I'll tell ya," he said softly, "My wife used to work in Sybak before she made a couple of important discoveries. Made my business easier. I wasn't always a gem dealer, if you know what I mean…"

Zelos squinted at the man. Age had weathered what was certain to have been a handsome face. Mr. Penguin could have indeed been a man of great strength in his heyday, which meant that it was certainly possible that he was in a less than savory line of work.

An Exsphere dealer.

Well, an ex-Exsphere dealer. It would have been easy to conceal: gems, jewels, and Exspheres all sparkled and the Nobles provided the market. The depth of the situation hit Zelos in a way that he imagined he would have felt at the reveal of Kratos as Lloyd's father if he had not known. He thought Vharley was the most powerful dealer in Tethe'alla. But then, he guessed, twenty years ago he would not have been aware of the shifts in dealership and if they had little consequence, he was disinclined to have learned them from Cruxis.

"So, in that case," Zelos connected, "you'd know a heck of a lot about the thing on my chest."

Mr. Penguin grinned. "That's right."

"If I said 'mana signature communication,' would you happen to know about that?"

The man sighed and looked around again. "I'm not sure that I do. Now, I've heard it before, but I have no idea what it means. I'll bet if you go to Sybak, though, they might know something. Cruxis Crystals are in much more common knowledge these days. Besides, you're the Chosen. You should have unrestricted access."

"That's just it. I've already been to the Elemental Lab and they didn't have any information on this particular thing. I'm not sure anyone knows exactly what I mean, except maybe…" Zelos stopped short of saying "Mithos Yggdrasill," as invoking the name itself would probably wither the fledgling Tree. "It's just that I've been experiencing some weirdo pain."

"Ah, I'm afraid that's where my expertise ends. Especially since I got out of it before a lot of the new research started. I had no choice," Mr. Penguin sighed. He began walking to the display case in the far corner of the room and Zelos followed, interested. "Please do, however, allow me to show you the real jewels we have on display. I'd like you to take it as my apology."

Zelos couldn't help but roll his eyes. Like he needed another jewel. He was trying to escape the aristocracy, not further pander to it.

"I appreciate the thought, gramps, but-"

"Please. Just take a look," he instructed.

Zelos obliged and took a sweeping glance across the display. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches all claiming some form of protection from the elements. All but one. There was a gold ring with a green-toned setting in the far left corner. It lacked description or carat count.

"Hey, what's… that one there?" He pointed to it and took the chance to inspect the jewel. It lacked the same gleam as the others and seemed that it was, in fact, fake.

Mr. Penguin scurried behind the desk. "That one! Ah, yes, you really ought to study it carefully. It's more unique than the rest, although I'm certain you'll want a better one to take to your sister."

Zelos scrunched up his nose. "What does that mean?"

Mr. Penguin unlocked the case and retrieved the gold-and-green ring, which he held up for Zelos to see. "Would it interest you to hear that a dark-haired woman with a foreign origin may have left it with a message some time ago?"

Boy, this was a lot of revelations for one day.

Zelos wagered, "Chief of Mizuho?" in full knowledge that the only dark-haired woman he knew well at  _all_  was her.

"The very one."

He took the ring from the owner's hand and stared at it with dismay. He knew this ring. He thought he'd never see it again. He sighed.

It was another one of those hazy nights during his travels. They-Sheena and he-had been drinking pretty heavily in Triet and had to pass through the bazaar to get back to their lodgings. Zelos was fairly intent upon getting back without any distractions so he wouldn't have to think about the possibilities of a Sheena who couldn't say no. However, Sheena wanted to stop at every stand to view the unique goods.

At the jeweler's shop, she had picked out a gaudy metallic ring and kept staring at it in the light of the sunset. "Hey, hey, hey, look, it's soooo pretty," she'd slurred. "How much is it?" The tender of the shop laughed at her drunkenness, then obliged the price. It was cheaper than the cheapest dust mite in Zelos's enormous mansion. But it made her smile, and when she put that silly ring on her finger, Zelos got an idea.

Sheena left to wander the rest of the bazaar, but Zelos swung by the same shop and took a look at the same column of rings she'd been browsing. He selected a green one with gold-ish metal, over-tipped the tender, and strolled on his way. He didn't remember exactly how the ring was transferred from his pocket to her hand, but by the time they got back to the hotel, it was on Sheena's finger alongside the one she chose for herself. The two of them laughed it off as a drunken stunt then went to bed. So, when Zelos saw a ringless hand the next morning, he had assumed she'd sloughed them off or forgotten them for a maid to find.

He stirred to see it now. What was it supposed to mean?

"That woman," Mr. Penguin said, "meant for you to know that 'Sir Bud's' business was done here. She told me you'd know what that meant."

Zelos nodded. At least it wasn't a simple discard of a gift meant to be heartfelt.

"Ah. I see. Well, I'd best be off, if there's nothing I can do for you." He made a motion to return the cheap ring, but Mr. Penguin refused.

"Keep it," he insisted, closing Zelos's hand on itself. "And while you're at it…" He presented the Chosen with a small velvet ring box and a handshake. "Please, I owe you gratitude for your patronage."

"All right, all right."

Zelos strolled out of the shop after a string of good-byes and thank-yous, as was custom in Flanoir. He covered his head and avoided the main byways but ventured to open the ring box he had pocketed. Inside, rather than being an empty slot for the gag ring, sat a golden ring with a glittering diamond. "What the-oh, my, Mr. Penguin, I'm flattered but I can't accept," he mused aloud. But after he looked around to make sure nobody was watching, he allowed himself to flush from the sheer gall of it. What the hell was he going to do with an actual diamond ring? That was way too nice for Seles to have at this age, and it wasn't exactly generous for the already-affluent Wilder family to keep more finery out of circulation.

Plus, there was no one he would ever, ever-

SCH-WAM.

For the second time that day, something hit him square in the nose. He recoiled and covered his face while reaching for his sword's hilt. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't believe his luck.

"If it isn't Richter Abend," Zelos scoffed. Richter was poised with weapons drawn looming over the knocked-back Chosen. Hesitantly, he rose to his feet and took up a guardian stance. Thank goodness he'd thought to put the ring back in his pocket.

"This is the last time I'm telling you. It would be wise to aid me with the use of your Cruxis Crystal," Richter murmured.

Zelos shot a loud laugh into the sodden air. "Ah, a-ha! Oh, 'scuze me, I thought I ran into a worthy foe for a second there."

Richter raged forward and hack-slashed his way toward the ready Zelos with no success. Zelos had already learned his battle pattern and was using that to his advantage.

"Damn you! Why won't you give up?!"

"Why won't  _you_  give up searching for something that isn't worth your time?" Zelos shouted back, dodging a magical attack.

Richter paused. "I don't understand what you're getting at."

"We're the same, you know."

"Is this some kind of joke?!" He surged forward and locked his weapons with the Chosen's sword.

"If you'd just calm down, you'd understand," Zelos persuaded. Richter backed off momentarily.

"… You have two seconds."

Before Richter could prime another attack, Zelos blurted, "ASTER." That'd stop him.

Richter maintained his composure, however. "That doesn't make any sense. It's-"

"You're bluffing." Zelos tilted his head forward. "I know who Aster was, and I know why you're so hell-bent on doing whatever it is to destroy Ratatosk."

Richter was still rigid in his tracks. "That's impossible."

"Do you want to know why I know this?" Zelos asked in his most saccharine, patronizing voice. It made Richter snarl all the more. "I can't give you my Cruxis Crystal, kid, but I can even the playing field. See, I feel bad for you because I know what your weakness is."

"You…!" Richter suddenly burst into a spell cast that lighted the entire alleyway up to the clouds hanging above.

"You loved him!" Zelos accused, heart racing in the excitement of the moment.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I HAVE BEEN THROUGH!  _TOWERING INFERNO_!"

Flames exploded from Richter so quickly that Zelos couldn't get his usual guard, and so turned his back on the attack to take the brunt with his wings. Thank goodness for the rain, else the attack would have consumed the normally dry Flanoirian and likely scorched off his skin through the layers of clothing. This was doubtlessly the most powerful attack he'd seen since the final battles with Mithos and it was cast by someone equally unstable.

When the heat dissipated, Zelos cautioned to say, "You shoulda… waited," and coughed, lungs still recovering from the blow. "I know what a shame it is because I'm in the same situation. I never told the person I love, never used that word. Now she's getting away from me," he admitted sorely.

Richter's face was stained with char marks and water, but Zelos saw through the lenses into eyes that bore resentment and pain, but also understanding. "So. This… This is your bargaining chip?"

Zelos nodded, solemn. "Now, I won't speak a word of what I know to anyone who might oppose you. But if I go back on that word, you know what my weakness is. You know her. And if you hurt her, I'm not sure if I'll be able to defend against myself, if you know what I mean," he said.

Fully lying. He knew that if Richter laid one hand across Sheena's face, his Crystal would likely snap into protection mode and explode the hell out of the guy. But Richter didn't have to know what the Cruxis Crystal did. If he knew half of the pain it caused, he wouldn't be looking so eagerly for it. And Zelos could have told him that but he knew that he could not deter a man set on his goal. Better to toy with him while the ball was still in his field.

Richter breathed fog into the evening air then walked past Zelos entirely.

"Agreed," he said simply. When Zelos turned to look for him, he had vanished.

Then it occurred to him that Colette might be in danger of losing her Crystal instead.


	9. Just Can't Look

Zelos panicked. Zelos never panicked. But now he found himself dashing with concentrated expedition toward the Mayor's house in Flanoir, where Colette was surely still meeting with the townspeople to negotiate some sort of peace. Moreover, Richter was surely headed that way as well, and Zelos didn't know what he would do if Flanoir was where either of the two Chosens met an end. Not the winter town.

The rain stung needles onto his cheeks and whipped his hair like a tornado around him. It didn't matter. Protect Colette.

When he came upon the door to the Mayor's offices, he didn't knock. In fact, he broke the handle from the sheer force of opening the door.

"COLETTE!" he called.

He was met with the startled and somewhat condescending looks of the Mayor and a few others. And there was Colette, standing innocently and calmly among them.

"What is it, Zelos?" she asked. Then, as she observed more of him, "What are those marks on Daddy's coat?"

He pushed out a breath. "Thank Mar _TEL_ , we've gotta get you out of here. NOW," he ordered.

"Chosen One, what is the meaning of this?" the Mayor interrupted. "That's an expensive door and I'll have you pay for its replacement! As if we hadn't just been attacked by―!"

"It  _is_  the Vanguard. Just now. Richter. We fought, he cast an enormous spell and I just barely got out. But I'm pretty sure if he hasn't gotten to you yet, he's about to find out you're here with me," Zelos gasped, turning to Colette. "He's hell-bent on these Crystals. I don't know why."

Colette glanced to the Mayor. "I… think we'd better go, if you don't mind," she said. "And I'll cover the costs, so please don't hold it against us. Everyone's lives depend on the success of our group!"

The Mayor sighed, and sent them on their way, more embarrassed at the behavior of his own country's Chosen than the amount of damage he'd let happen with the Vanguard crisis the night before.

The young angel followed Zelos's lead as they fled into the street. But she saw something he didn't. Sensing the danger, she chose not to speak, but rather tugged on his arm to get his attention. When Zelos looked back at her, she pointed to a nearby alley. The two ducked in quickly, then Zelos ventured to poke his head around the corner.

A flash of red.

He whipped back. Colette opened her mouth, but Zelos shook his head hard. Then he motioned for Colette to look into his eyes. If he concentrated hard enough, he should be able to lock on to her mana signature from the sheer closeness.

' _Hear me, Colette,_ ' he thought. ' _We've gotta fly out of here as soon as possible but the light from our wings will be too bright._ '

She was silent, inquisitive, distracted by her fear. But after a moment, Zelos heard very faintly, ' _Carry me and I'll cast Judgment upon him._ '

They nodded in agreement. Zelos activated his blazing orange wings and took Colette by the waist. Kicking off into the sky, Zelos struggled under the added weight. It was bad enough that his wings barely worked, but now Colette was actively trying to cast. They were dropping and weaving with the rain spattering upon them.

A circle of blue light surrounded Colette, all but blinding Zelos. But the man could still see that Richter had spotted them and was working to cast his own spell. Zelos flew forward with all his might straight into the darkness of the clouds. He heard Colette scream, "HOLY JUDGMENT!"

After the crash of the attack below, she turned to Zelos and yelled, "WHERE ARE WE GOING?!"

But Zelos couldn't hear her over the rushing wind, and so continued at top speed to the only place he knew the Vanguard wouldn't suspect: Palmacosta.

Even as he hovered near the town, the rain persisted, and a bolt of lightning upset his flight pattern enough that his wings gave up and they hurtled to the ground. Colette wrestled away from Zelos in the free fall and grabbed his hands. She activated her wings and attempted to slow them down, although the horrified look on Zelos's face indicated that no matter their landing, the aftermath wouldn't be pleasant.

The ground approached faster than expected. Zelos hit first, rolling to the side and covering his face. Colette tumbled on top of him and off onto a patch of sopping, muddy earth. The rain pat-patted around them.

"Ungh…" Zelos tried to move, but it was too taxing.

"Oh, no. Are you okay?" Colette groaned. She turned to him, rising up on her elbow.

"I'm prob'ly… get Clara," he ordered succinctly. He gave in to the pull of the blackness and passed out again.

* * *

"… osen. Chosen. Zelos."

An unfamiliar voice rang in his ears. Zelos concentrated on the state of his body. No longer in the rain, but still in wet clothes. Cruxis Crystal still attached. Thank goodness nobody had tampered with his body.

He opened his eyes but couldn't believe them. He was lying just inside the government hall, where Colette kneeled over him and standing to the side were Clara and Lloyd himself.

"What the―Lloyd?!" he said.

"Don't try to get up," Colette advised. She stood up next to Lloyd.

"Lloyd, why are you here?" Zelos asked quietly. "Nn―Sorry, Clara, I'm muddying your office."

The wife of the late Governor-General smiled. "It's of no consequence, Chosen. We were worried about your well-being."

He paused. "Why do I feel like I'm in Derris Kharlan?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel a little weird, too," Colette said. "Maybe it's the Crystal."

Zelos laughed. "I shoulda just let Richter have it."

"No," Lloyd barked. "We can't let him go through with what he's doing."

"Hey, I'd really love to know what that'd be, but I'd kinda like to clean up a bit."

"We didn't want to disturb you," Clara noted. "Colette ran for help after she discovered you were blacked out, and it just so happened that we were in the office."

"Do you think you can stand on your own?" asked Colette.

With some difficulty, Zelos sat, then stood. Not wanting to appear weak, he said, "There. See? No problems." He was still a bit dizzy, though. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wet splotch of carpet he'd been lying on. It was dashed with blood. "Whoa…"

"Your back was bleeding underneath the coat. Probably from Richter's attack," Colette explained. "But we healed you with some extra gels that Lloyd had."

"… How did you open my mouth?"

"… Do you ever  _not_  open your mouth?" Lloyd joked. And there it was: the Lloyd Zelos knew. He had to smile.

"Chosen, I'm afraid I don't have any means to make you feel more comfortable here. If you're able, we can reconvene at my cottage," Clara said. "Although, Lloyd…"

"I'll wear the coat," he replied.

"Is it still raining?" Zelos asked. "My hair looks different in the rain…"

"It's not," Colette said. "But I have a hair tie from Granny. You can use that!"

"… You're joking, right?"

Colette wasn't joking, of course, and largely because the town was still crippled from the fallout of the Regeneration group. Zelos stuffed away his headband in exchange for another ponytail and Lloyd donned the bloodied, dirty jacket in order to take to the streets relatively unnoticed. Colette was of little consequence―anyone would first target Lloyd or Zelos for their forays in politics. And Clara was always escorted by a pair of guards, so their little group was fairly well-protected despite the Vanguard roaming the streets. Most of them were ex-Rens, anyway.

They found Clara's little cottage within ten minutes. Zelos performed a quick-wash using her bathroom sink.

"So," he said, emerging with a flourish, "What do we already know?"

"Um, I was just about to say," Colette stuttered, "The Mayor of Flanoir wanted to arrange a brigade to protect their city. Before you came in, that is."

"… And what is Lloyd doing here?" He sat in the chair left open for him, and Clara thoughtfully placed a cup of tea at his placement. "Thanks, Clare."

"… I can't say," Lloyd confessed. "I want to, but I can't."

"Y'sure we can't make a deal?" Zelos looked up at Lloyd after a sip of tea. Colette bowed her head.

"… How?"

"I have information on Richter, which I've confirmed to be true. Although I'm not allowed to say what, I can definitely guide you in the right direction," Zelos hummed.

"I already know why he wants your Cruxis Crystals."

Colette looked up, slack-jawed. "What? Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Yeah, and why are you in Palmacosta in the first place?" Zelos turned his head toward Clara. "And why aren't  _you_  trying to kill him?"

Lloyd slumped back in his chair. "We needed a stronghold, a safe place that isn't… where Yuan is."

"Why Palmacosta?" Zelos asked incredulously. "The Vanguard is, like,  _here_."

Colette received a knowing look from Lloyd and spoke, "Since Clara was healed with the skills Raine got from the Unicorn, she has Martel's protection."

"Even if I wanted to, I could never reveal your group's information to the enemies," Clara said. "It made sense for Yuan to call upon me."

"But why the sudden change of alliance? I mean, you were never against us, but given all that's happened to Palmacosta, I just don't get it," Zelos marked.

Lloyd looked to Clara, then to Colette. What the hell was going on?

"It looks like it's time to tell you," Lloyd began. "The last time I saw you, Emil was with you. And Yuan and I have discovered that Emil is so closely connected to Ratatosk that if I'd told you any information, it would have put our work in jeopardy."

Zelos squinted. "So, what's the information?"

"That's just it. Emil is connected to Ratatosk, directly. Whatever he sees, hears, or feels belongs to that Summon Spirit―"

"He's a  _what_ , now?"

"The Summon Spirit of Mana," Colette finished.

"Hold on, say it again. I want to have a mouth full of tea to spit out in friggin' disbelief," Zelos gagged. "A Summon Spirit? When did we as a people figure this out?"

"Yuan was holding out information until he had confirmed it, but there actually is a Summon Spirit of Mana. And he's the one responsible for all the monster outbreaks. I'm trying to collect the cores so we can make it to the Ginnungagap before Richter does. And Richter's trying to kill Ratatosk in order to revive―and you're never gonna believe this―a half-elf," Lloyd explained.

Zelos smirked. Yeah, that sounded pretty much like Mithos's story. He wasn't wholly surprised. He already knew that Richter had a pretty messed-up past, and if he was keeping Aster's body somewhere, it would make sense for him to want to stuff someone else's soul in it. Mithos to the core. Where were they breeding psychotic kids these days?

"So, am I protected from spilling these beans just by being in your-all's presence?" Zelos questioned.

"Mhm!" Colette nodded in assent. "We're safe. But we're trying to figure out what to do now."

"So… is this why you were being a total dick before, Bud? You couldn't make a safe haven until now?" the redhead muttered sharply.

Lloyd sighed. "You're gonna have to give me a break on this one. I thought Yuan would at least let  _you_  in, being Cruxis and all."

Clara was quick to intervene. "He couldn't have done anything until now. Besides, I needed Zelos to watch Marta, which meant he'd be around Emil. Now, Palmacosta was a concentrated Vanguard stronghold until recently. But as I'm sure you know from the attacks in Flanoir, they've scattered. They're working their way to Sybak as we speak, and we've just heard that they have invaded Altamira."

"Altamira?! Is Regal there? Is he in danger?" Colette pressed, slamming her hands on the table.

"The T-MIN is working on it," Clara said proudly. "Tethe'alla Mizuho Information Network. The ninja have been coming here to report rather than Mizuho, so they won't put their town in danger. I'm relieved that Yuan's protection will keep Palmacosta safe no matter what."

"What can we do in the meantime?" Zelos asked.

"Wait for more orders. I'm actually heading out," Lloyd said, standing. "But now that you know the game, you two are going to be valuable players. I'm going to send a scout out to you once I infiltrate Altamira so you know what's going on."

"… So now, we wait," Colette concluded sadly.

"Before you leave, Bud," Zelos addressed, "I got a question. It might sound kind of dumb, but were you in Flanoir recently, by any chance?"

Lloyd thought for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, I was, actually, a little back. Before the attack."

"Hm." Zelos thought about the words of Mr. Penguin, the message Sheena left for him. Lloyd wasn't there, huh? Why'd she dump the ring, then? She did meet him. She was just trying to throw Zelos off his tracks. That had to have been it―! "Thanks," he said curtly.

As Lloyd was leaving, Colette rose and embraced him lengthily. Zelos had to look away when she lifted to her tiptoes to kiss him, though. It was almost uncalled for in this dire time. Besides, like Lloyd deserved the sudden attention and love. If the two Chosens hadn't had to make a crash-landing, they wouldn't have found Lloyd anyway. They would have kept searching until a hapless Papal Knight found them.

Could have been weeks looking for Lloyd on their own. Maybe it would have seemed like some grand adventure. But as it stood, Lloyd was just Yuan's tool. And moreover, Sheena was  _still_  fawning over him. Even after all that time she said she'd―!

" _We're just going in different directions, Zelos."_

He still felt the pang in his soul when he thought about how Sheena had declared the end of their relationship out of the blue. "Different direction," she claimed. As though they didn't live on the same planet. As if she weren't constantly traveling to Meltokio. He'd always suspected that she was trying to get her foot out the door but chalked it up to her general lukewarm emotional release. She never let him all the way into her life. She never returned the affection he showed. And then, she had the gall to just― _physically_ ―feel like she could hit him, or hurt him, or use him for his willingness at any time. It was all Lloyd, wasn't it. The ring. The sudden fleeing at the first sign of Lloyd acting weird.

He turned away and downed Clara's homemade tea in two large gulps. He didn't even bother to say goodbye to Lloyd.

Colette joined him at the table, somewhat tearfully though smiling.

Clara ensured to lock the door. "Well, it's almost nine in the evening," she said. "I don't have any extra beds in this tiny home of mine, but I can arrange for the inn to have a room ready after I prepare dinner for you…"

Zelos put up a hand. "No need, Ms. Dorr. It's already too polite of you to have guarded us this far."

"Please," she said, clasping her hands. "Allow me this kindness. I hardly have visitors or friends at all since the Vanguard set up shop. I'd love to cook for you. And, you especially, Zelos, could use a change of clothes."

Zelos looked at his horrifically dirtied white trousers and nodded. "Can't argue with you there."

"Not much to do about that!" Colette agreed. "Thank you, Ms. Dorr. We truly appreciate your sanctuary."

Clara went about fetching some of her late husband's simpler clothing for Zelos to wear while Colette insisted upon laundering their traveling garments. In the meantime, Zelos kept watch for the scouts and Vanguard by looking out the window. The guards outside glared at him for doing this, however. He kept fiddling with the box that contained both rings, trying to hide it from Colette. He didn't know why he was still holding on to either but for the value of the diamond these days. Maybe Mr. Penguin had it right―maybe the only compensation for this crinkled-up heart of his was hope that someday he'd be able to give a diamond with meaning.

Maybe he'd find the first country bumpkin willing enough just to escape the bounty on his head.

While simple, Clara's dinner was very filling and the Chosens thanked her endlessly. Zelos did the dishes, of course. Then the guards hastily escorted them to the inn under the cover of the autumn night. Colette went up to the room immediately for a bit of privacy, but Zelos likewise headed to the attached bar. He'd be damned if he couldn't get at least a little tipsy after hearing the news about Richter's intentions.

"I'm gonna have a double potion of your strongest stuff," he demanded as he walked in.

After the free shot provided by the all-too-pleasant barmaid, Zelos began to feel a kinship for Richter. Hey, he had his heart ripped out, too. And now his beloved's  _dead_. Dead! To the point where he probably feels like he should bring 'im back!

A strong mixed drink later, Zelos had an arm slung around the balding, tough-looking guy at the end of the bar. "Ain't no cure for that, nope!" he shouted, gesticulating wildly.

"And I told her, you know, that's it! I'm not gonna take any of her cheatin' ways NO MORE," the man hollered back.

"Damn right! I ain't gonna tolerate it either! I'm like, DONE with that," Zelos slurred. He stood and called down to the bartender. "Heyyyyyyy, pretty lady, gimme another one of those Victory Lite Beers, huuuuuuuunny!"

An hour and a half later, he barely made it up the stairs of the inn, stumbling toward the bathroom. He wouldn't have vomited but for the pounding of the shower on his healing wounds and the overall sensitivity of his back after having activated his wings. He scrubbed his mouth with the cheap, borrowed toothbrush and plodded to the twin bed as quietly as he could, as to not disturb Colette already sleeping in her bed. It'd been far too long since he'd had such a shitshow night.

But he slept solidly and woke with no ill effects. Maybe his Cruxis Crystal was working after all. Colette was already awake and brushing her hair in front of the single full-length mirror.

"Good morning, Zelos," she chirped. "It looks like we're still waiting on our news. Did you sleep okay?"

He smirked. "It was a rough night to say the least, but I seem to be fine now."

"Did you drink too much?"

"Nah, I was drunk, not trashed. But I think I made a friend outta some old guy and the barmaid slapped me for being lewd," he bragged, shifting under the duvet.

"Are you hungry? We could ring for breakfast," Colette suggested, whirling around to put the plastic comb down.

He shook his head. "Meh, you can get something, but I'm not particularly hungry. I might have yakked in the shower last night."

"Oh, then you need to get your strength up! I'll go ahead and ask the concierge. You just stay here and rest."

Colette took to the hallway. Zelos wondered how she could still be so optimistic. But he supposed that she dealt with the news in her own non-alcoholic way. It was nice to have a companion who was relentlessly upbeat for those purposes. Just the day before, they were escaping certain demise. Now, Colette was bouncing around excited about a meal.

He swung his legs around and propelled himself onto his feet. Dressing was a chore, but at least he wasn't dizzy. He wondered if he'd just felt bad in the presence of Lloyd. Lloyd had a core, didn't he?

Once the boots were on, Zelos inspected himself in the mirror. Rough stubble was settling onto his cheeks and chin. He rubbed his face in contemplation. There was no razor in the bathroom already, and who knows if Palmacosta even  _offered_  them at their inns. But how was he supposed to keep travelling without a handsome, clean-shaven look? It certainly took a longer amount of time for him to look rugged a couple years ago.

He tousled his hair this way and that and tried to tease the back with his fingers. Probably needed a cut there, too…

POOF!

A cloud of whitish smoke emerged at the far corner of the room. It hardly surprised Zelos anymore―he was fairly used to the whole ninja thing. But it did disappoint him that it was Orochi who had arrived and not any other peon.

"Yo, Orochi-kun-san," he said languidly.

"Chosen of Tethe'alla," Orochi said. "I was expecting Chosen Colette to be here as well."

"She's busy being popular. What's the word? Are you the one Double-L sent?"

"So it would appear. I do have urgent news, although I would prefer to wait for Ms. Brunel."

Zelos tapped the ground with the top of his boot. "Welp, you're gonna have to wait a bit, then. We just woke up, so."

Another awkward moment passed quietly.

"You…  _could_  give me a hint, and then when she gets back, I'll just hear the story again," he suggested.

Orochi sniffed once and grandly. "I suppose I could allow you to hear it twice. There's some trouble in Mizuho, anyway."

Zelos raised his eyebrows. "Mizuho, eh?"

"It's been found," Orochi continued, "by the Vanguard, no less. So we're in the process of trying to pack everything up and move as soon as possible."

Shit.

"Everything? Well, I guess I'll hear from the King about your new location soon enough―"

"The Chief is ensuring that the King in particular does not receive that information…"

"Bullshit."

Orochi looked stricken. "E-excuse me?"

"No, y'know what, fine. Whatever. That's cool," Zelos shrugged. Was this Orochi just being ornery, or did Sheena really say that? Was she trying to prevent Tethe'allan intervention by severing ties? And why the hell would she do that?

"'Cool' isn't exactly the word I'd use, all respect," Orochi muttered angrily. "But as it stands, the reason they are there is because they've infiltrated Altamira and set Lezareno Building Number Two as their base. Regal used himself as bait, which the Vanguard readily took, and now the Chief is with the village and the two children are infiltrating the Building with some people you might know."

Zelos put his head in his hand. "All right, so, recon?"

"Lloyd intends for yourself and Colette to further infiltrate the base and maintain watch over the one called Emil. He may be in a volatile state."

"Recon," Zelos clarified. "I'll let her know, then."

"Ahem, I am staying until Colette is well-informed. It was the Chief's wish."

"So why didn't the  _Chief_  show up herself?" Zelos asked.

"Because I am currently employed by Lloyd Irving. I am simply trying to honor her overall wishes."

Zelos rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, then, both of you can just suck my―"

"Orochi!" Colette called, bursting through the door. "Did Lloyd send you?"

"Why, yes, Colette. And I am obliged to inform you of your mission," Orochi said pleasantly. It was a night-and-day shift from the way he treated Zelos. He was to Orochi what Lloyd was to him: a threat. Ah, the power struggle.

Zelos leaned against the wall while he listened to the explanation of their modus operandi a second time. Only when Colette looked at him did he say anything. "Well, I guess we'll be off after breakfast, then, mm?"

"Maybe we should eat on the way," Colette said.

"How are we traveling, by the way?" Zelos asked her. "My wings probably won't hold up."

"I was gonna carry you. It isn't… well, it's not  _that_  far…"

Orochi sighed loudly. "I am supposed to offer you a ninja seal transport which I have set for landing in the building's basement."

"Oh, no, it's okay, we can fly," Colette insisted.

"I think you'd be better off preserving your strength, in the case of a battle," Orochi stated. "Besides, I can already tell that you both are in a bit of a weakened condition."

Colette's smile faded slightly. "Well, I guess we can't argue with that," she told Zelos.

"Fine," he agreed. "But only if we can wait until after we eat."

Orochi approached the smaller angel and extended a paper seal. "Here, no need to worry. Just hold on to it and cast your Holy Judgment. It's already compatible."

Colette accepted it and nodded.

"And do hurry. Everyone else began this operation last night."

Orochi flashed out of sight just as quickly as he had appeared. Zelos breathed a contented sigh.

"Well! What'd you order for us?" he asked.

"Omelets!"

"Omelets with… what in them?"

"Oh… I didn't know you could order… I just liked the name―!" Colette gaffed. Zelos poked her forehead.

"Ah, Colette, Colette, you never cease to amuse me," he said. "I guess it'll be a surprise. But just so you know, you can usually put sausage or tomato or other savory things inside an omelet to give it more flavor."

"So, if I wanted, could I put pineapple on it?"

"… Colette, do you know what 'savory' means?"

"… It's something rare so you have to save up for it to be in your food, right?" she replied blankly.

"My, my," Zelos tsked. "That's not it at all. It means something that's salty or the opposite of sweet."

Colette laughed nervously. "Ha ha, I see why pineapple wouldn't be a savory thing. 'My bad.'" She tried to impersonate Zelos with the last phrase, but ended up just making a silly face.

"Heh. I'm rubbing off on you. But hey, pineapple might actually taste good on an omelet. I guess we won't know until we try!" Zelos exclaimed.

"Then we'll just have to make one as soon as we're done saving Emil and Marta and Regal!"

"Exactly."

There was a knock at the door signaling the arrival of foretold omelets, which turned out to contain local bacon and salsa. Both ate hurriedly and Colette claimed she had a stomach ache, to which Zelos said, "You were the one who chose bacon!" and brushed it off.

She began to cast her high arte while she and Zelos held corners of the paper. He could only hope that the spell transported them quickly and didn't actually cause damage to the hotel room, but he would never know for sure. They instantly appeared in a metal-encased room.

"This is the right place, right?" Colette asked.

"Yeah. Although it would have been nice to get a map. I've never been in this part of a Lezareno building," he mused. "Do you happen to still have the seal?" he added, upon noticing that he was no longer holding onto it.

"I think it disappeared, or something. Sorry."

"Nah, don't apologize. I shoulda asked Cock-roachi about it before he poofed away. Let's explore."

The room didn't have any noticeable exits, but it did contain a plant, shelves with a couple of boxes, and a clunky machine that resembled none of the technology Zelos had ever seen in his Cruxis days.

"Do you suppose there's a door we can just… open?" Colette asked. She began to run her gloved palm across the surface of the walls.

"I'm not sure we're  _not_  in prison, actually," Zelos said, "since Orochi didn't tell us what room we'd end up in."

Zelos moved a box to the side and searched for a trap door or button. "We really are in the epitome of a basement, though. Dank as hellllll―oh?" He saw what he thought was an impression meant for switching a wall in the style of a bookshelf and punched it. No luck, though. "Aw, man."

"Wait a second! Maybe we have to operate that big computer over there," Colette suggested. She made a beeline for it from the corner where she had been standing. Unfortunately, her boot caught on the edge of a curled-up piece of iron and she flew forward.

Zelos saw it in slow motion: the trip, the soaring through the air, the falling on top of the machine, predictably. "Hey, Colette, be careful!" he called.

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry! I tripped again," she moaned, pushing herself off the machine. But it started to beep and wail as though an alarm had been sounded.

"Oh, man! The machine's going crazy!" Zelos flew toward the thing and banged it a couple times.

"What should we do, Zelos? Maybe I pressed something…" She backed up against the wall and hugged her arms to her chest. What if the Vanguard found them and it was all her fault? What if they couldn't protect themselves because of the wear and tear from yesterday's flight?

But suddenly, she felt herself falling backward. Zelos reached out for her but not in time.

FWOOMP.

Zelos glanced into the adjoining room and was shocked to see Emil and Tenebrae as well as that douchebag Decus. Tenebrae disappeared after a moment, though.

"Colette! Zelos!" Emil called. He didn't sound urgent as much as surprised.

Still lying down, Colette reached up to grab Emil's hand. "Emil! Thank goodness you're all right." She smiled, oblivious to the imminent danger. Decus was standing watchfully in the middle of the room. If they didn't act soon, Emil  _wouldn't_  be all right.

"How did you two get here?" Emil pressed.

Zelos almost laughed, but his eyes were trained on Decus. "I guess your luck with klutziness is still going as strong as ever," he muttered. "Hey, Emil, I'll explain all this later. Come with us for now."

He offered a hand to Colette, who was stumbling in her attempt to drag Emil into the next room.

"But―! He's the one who killed my parents!"

"Sorry, but getting rid of the Vanguard is more important than revenge."

Zelos and Colette tag-dragged the kid back before Zelos yelped, "Hit the machine again! Hit it again!"

Before Decus could follow, the door shot back up and they were encased in the room with the boxes again. Emil stood up and brushed himself off.

"Gee, that was easier than I expected," Zelos sighed. "I'll give Orochi more credit next time."

Colette dusted off her knees, which were covered in sawdust. "Yeah, I thought we were going to have to fight a bunch of guys first, and even then he'd be in a group…"

"Yeah, why are you alone? I thought you were with Regal and the others," Zelos said.

Emil squeaked, "Well…"

But another door opening interrupted their chat. Behind it stood a couple of Vanguard soldiers primed to fight. "Intruders! How did you get in here?"

Emil tensed and backed behind the Chosens. Sensing timidity, Zelos turned to the boy and said, "Let's get rid of them, Emil." He turned back to the guards. "Come on!" he shouted tauntingly.

He somewhat pushed Emil forward toward the left-hand guard while he dashed toward the right. It was a quick battle, as these Sylvaranti guards were clearly not experienced in combat. As Zelos knocked out his guy with a quick blow of a hilt to the head, he imagined the guards' training sessions being run by someone as distractible as Decus. What a riot.

Emil had bested his opponent as well, so the three of them scurried out the just-opened door and around the corner of the hallway. All paused to listen for the footsteps of guards, but it seemed like the ones they'd knocked out were the only ones on that floor. Colette closed her eyes and concentrated on vibrations she could feel through her feet.

"This way," she said suddenly, dragging both of them by the wrist past the original door and toward a space in the wall that neither of them could have guessed was a sliding door.

Once inside, Emil praised, "Wow, Colette! You're awesome at finding doors."

The girl smiled back, brightly as ever.

After observing the sparseness of the room, Zelos announced, "We should be okay in here. Sorry to drag you along like that."

"It's okay," Emil said, shaking his head. "You were right. We have more important things to do. But why are the two of you here?"

"Lloyd asked us to come," said Colette.

"He did?"

"We finally managed to catch up to the guy," Zelos said, with a smirk toward Colette. They'd all but crash-landed on top of him by accident, but better to show off. "And he finally gave us the reasoning behind his motives."

At least, that's what he meant to say. Zelos's words caught in his throat, almost literally. He found his tongue moving without correspondence to what he was thinking. "Though he still won't tell us anything," he said instead. Protection of Martel?

"Just then, we heard the Vanguard had invaded Altamira. So Lloyd told us to go and help," Colette said honestly.

"Is he here, too?" Emil asked quickly.

"Yeah," Zelos began cautiously. "But he… said he couldn't work together with us for some reason, so he's off doing his own thing." Thank goodness he was allowed to say that, at least.

"What about you? Why are you here all alone?" Colette asked Emil, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, Marta and I came in here looking for her father, but Alice showed up. She was really freaking out about Decus, something like he was being possessed and she wanted us to help. I don't know why I thought we could help," the boy sighed, "but we followed her anyway, and just as Marta got in the door, a trap opened up. Alice tricked us. I feel so stupid."

Colette patted his shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay. So, Marta was captured…"

"This is not good," Zelos stated. "But at least you're with us, so they can't use the power of Ratatosk."

―He had  _tried_  to say. Boy, he would have surely given away the game if he hadn't had Lloyd's magical thingy cast upon him at Palmacosta. How was he being so loose-lipped these days?

"If Marta's in enemy hands, that means they can use the mana cannon," Zelos  _actually_  said. He looked to Colette in his confusion but she seemed not to notice.

"It's all my fault. If I didn't trust Alice―"

Tenebrae appeared in a cloud similar to Orochi's just an hour before. "There's no need to worry. I am able to sense where they're keeping Lady Marta. Now is not the time to blame yourself for what happened."

Instead of being fazed, Colette responded calmly to the Centurion's presence. "He's right. Let's go save Marta." Emil agreed, but Zelos would be eternally creeped out by Tenebrae's persistent yet invisible presence. Were they ever alone?

As they headed back into the hallway, Zelos noticed that Emil was still sullen from recent proceedings. Well, at least  _his_  "girlfriend" Marta was probably looking forward to being rescued. But he'd seen that look before and it was oh-so refreshing not to be the one dealing with girl problems… at least for the moment.

"Hey, Emil!" he called. The boy fell back and in step with the Chosen.

"What's up?"

"I tell ya, little ol' Alice really stuck it to you back there," he observed.

"Are you trying to say it was my fault? Don't worry. I know that already," Emil balked, and trudged forward.

"Whoa, don't get your panties in a bunch, kid. I wasn't blaming you."

"Then, what is it?" Emil asked plainly.

"You see, when a boy is tricked by a woman for the first time, that's when he becomes a man," Zelos explained. Emil's eyes went wide. "You trust one, get betrayed, trust another, get betrayed. You swear you'll never trust again, but then you do. That's male-female relations in a nutshell for ya. Just, y'know, in case you didn't know."

Emil was silent and confused-looking. It wasn't like he'd ever asked for Zelos's advice before, so having it thrust upon him was somewhat of an unpleasant reality.

"It's true she got the better of you this time. But now we've got another full-grown man on our side! We'll kick her ass six ways to Sunday," Zelos assured.

"You sound like you speak from experience," Emil deadpanned.

Clearly, Zelos had to work on his motivational speeches. That one left his heart on his sleeve. "Leave me alone!" he shouted, and added quietly, "You'll see for yourself soon enough."

If the path they were tracing led to the inner lair of the Vanguard, then surely Sheena would be there. Oh, lucky day.

As Colette led the way with her still-enhanced angelic senses, Zelos couldn't help but feel a bit left out. He started to feel weird again; queasy, a little light-headed. It was probably from whatever cores the Vanguard still possessed but he had to wonder why Colette wasn't experiencing the same thing. Maybe because she'd been alive for fewer years? Maybe becoming an old man was catching up to Zelos.

They had to ward off a couple more guards, the most threatening of which being the female magicians. They'd forgotten how many Renegades had been especially skilled at tapping into their magical powers. But beyond that, other thugs were easy to knock out. They re-rigged the elevators with newfound keycards―predictably designed, thanks to Regal's experience in similar facilities.

Upon reaching the top level of the building, Tenebrae appeared and said, "I sense Lady Marta on this floor. Please search for her."

"Psht, no shit, Merlock, it's the last possible location," Zelos wised.

Emil opened the first door he could find, weapon drawn just in case. "She's probably in here!"

But after they busted the door open and found no trace of the pigtailed girl, Emil felt a little silly.

"Yo, Tenny, what's the deal? She's not here," Zelos advised.

"Yes, it seems that way, but I feel her presence coming from this floor. I am sure of it," Tenebrae asserted.

"Maybe there's a hidden door! Like how we found you, Emil," Colette said.

"Ooh. Colette.  _Don't_  trip all over this room," said Zelos. Everyone laughed in response, perhaps more nervously than in true appreciation of sarcasm. "Y'know, Colette, sometimes your luck with turning trips into miracles is nothing short of amazing. I could just kiss you!" Zelos turned to observe another shelf in the far corner, with no intention of following up on that remark.

But almost inevitably, there was a loud clunking sound from above. Zelos felt something drop on his head.

"Ouch!" He saw a screw bounce to the ground. "Oh no." He hopped to the side just in time to avoid the figure descending from above.

With a graceful flip, a ninja landed right in front of them.

"Sheena!"Emil identified.

Zelos thought of the most caustic thing he could say to get her attention. "Hey, Jugs! Glad to see you're all right!"

Sheena punched him square in the jaw. Nice right hook, he pondered, nursing himself.

"I'll smack you!" Sheena yelped, flustered.

"Agh, I think you meant that to be past-tense…"

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Sheena asked Colette and Emil. She pointedly refused to look at Zelos.

"Well, you see," Colette began slowly.

"Wait, wait. Just tell me later," Sheena insisted. "But I'm glad you're here! You can help me out. Well, two of you. We need to rescue Marta."

Emil staggered back. "Marta's here?! You've seen her?"

Sheena nodded. "Yep, I was looking for Regal and I just happened to stumble upon her. It took me completely by surprise since I thought I sent her out of the city…" She added a glaring look at Emil. "She's in the stockroom just past this wall. You can get in through a crawlspace in the ceiling. Follow me!"

Without further interruption, Sheena bent her knees and leapt up to the large pipe that was now glaringly obvious. Well, guess she hadn't given up her Exsphere yet.

"Oh, man, she expects me to jump up there?" Zelos whined. Between his jaw and his back, he had little choice but to wait around like some normal human―like Emil, minus the Ratatosk part.

But Colette seized him under the arms and activated her wings. "I'll carry you!" she sang.

"Huh―?"

Before he could protest, Zelos was forcibly lifted up into the air duct. Colette plopped him down unceremoniously, and then went to aid in Emil's ascension.

"Now you can't get even up a silly ventilation duct? You really are losing it," Sheena jabbed as she waited for him to stand. She sure was holier-than-thou right off the bat.

Zelos sighed. "Look, I got injured trying to save my ass from losing the Crystal in the first place," he admitted. It wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to get involved in at the moment, since Marta could be in just as much danger as he was. "But now I'm trying to figure out why you thought stepping in was a good idea."

Emil and Colette appeared and crouched for a moment of recovery.

"Stepping into…  _what_ , exactly?" she asked in earnest.

"If you  _must_  know," Zelos said loudly and in the direction of Colette, "It was the leaving-the-ring-I-gave-you in that accessory shop. As if that's where Lloyd hadn't been."

Colette was entirely confused, but Sheena flushed brightly now that everyone's eyes were upon her. "Oh-ho, that stupid thing? It's not like it meant anything, anyway."

"… What the HELL, Sheena." Zelos turned on his heel and stormed back to the vent's opening.

"W-wait! Zelos, where are you going?" Emil called.

"I'll keep watch for, well, whoever-the-fuck," he responded.

Colette ran over to him. "Zelos, please don't overreact."

But Zelos didn't deign to look at her.

"Zelos―please! I just―you don't understand. Don't make too much noise. You know how much is at stake," Sheena pleaded, finally catching his gaze.

Zelos scowled, sighed. The nerve of her. He continued to the front of the pack without a word, and they carried on tiptoeing through the ventilation.

Suddenly, Tenebrae materialized and stopped the group from moving forward. "I sense Marta below."


	10. Bound

"I sense Marta below."

"Really?" Emil gasped at the Centurion's statement, spotting a nearby vent opening. He rushed forward and leaned down to see none other than the girl right below them. Faintly, they made out that she was speaking to someone.

"Who's down there with 'er?" Sheena asked the boy, kneeling beside him. Colette shushed her and closed her eyes to listen.

A voice boomed, "No, it's you who doesn't understand! The Church of Martel's riling Tethe'allans and trying to destroy the Sylvaranti. Or have you already forgotten? And let us not forget they are also responsible for the death of your mother! Now is the time for us to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty and to restore the pride of the Sylvaranti!"

Zelos mentally listed the Vanguard members it  _couldn't_  be: Alice, Decus, Magnar, Hawk. By default, it had to be Brute. Oh, boy, this was going to be a rough one.

Marta's words rang loudly in the duct. "It's true that some of the people in the Church have done horrible things. But so have you! You attacked Palmacosta and blamed it on the Church! If you have a problem with the Church or the Tethe'allan people, then you should have found some other way to resolve it!"

Colette grabbed Zelos's arm and gave him an intense look.  _'The Commander must be affected by the Core. Do you feel it?'_

Zelos searched his Cruxis Crystal. Nothing. ' _I can't tell from this alone, but I know it's happening_.'

' _Try not to pass out!_ '

"You poor girl," Brute said below. "But I know you're not to be blamed. Your mind has been affected by Ratatosk's core. Leave it to me. I will gather all of the Centurions' cores together… and then remove that cursed core from your body! Then, together, we will crush the Church of Martel and the Tethe'allans!"

"Oh, yeah, he's gone. Good luck trying to reason with that guy," Zelos whispered aloud.

"No, Daddy! You're the one who's infected. Solum's core is warping your mind! Please wake up! Please stop doing all of these terrible things! Daddy…" Marta began to sniffle as her father's footsteps became softer. The sound of a door opening alerted Zelos to the fact that there had to be an outside entrance.

"All we have to do is somehow incapacitate him and retrieve Solum's core. Once Lady Marta has hatched it, most of the harmful effects should dissipate," Tenebrae told the group.

Sheena looked at the beast sidelong. "Either way, we still need to rescue Marta first. We should be able to get down from the vent up ahead. Let's hurry. This vent doesn't budge, but there's one around the corner," she instructed.

Zelos tried to quicken his pace to make the job easier, but when it came to descending from the next vent, he still had problems landing on his feet. There was an iron-gilded man guarding the door who questioned the four of them with the standard, "Who goes there?"

Even as he was discombobulated from the fall, Zelos nonchalantly replied, "The great Zelos Wilder and his hunnies!" It was a name and persona that would more than rile resentment in the Sylvaranti guy. This guard in particular looked like it was the first job he'd ever had. What fun was a fight that was over before it began?

"Get serious!" Sheena snapped.

But before Zelos could ask why she cared so much, the guard shouted, "Shut up!" and leapt into battle.

It was still a quick battle, angry Vanguard or not. Colette actually managed to deliver the final blow with a sharp-edged chakra while Emil hurriedly punched the door open. Colette lovingly propped the guard up after he had fallen to make sure that he didn't get trampled on.

When the three of them made it to where Marta was sitting, Marta's poorly-made handcuffs had been split apart and Emil was embracing her, apologizing.

"I never should have believed Alice," the boy lamented.

"No, it's my fault for letting my guard down," Marta replied.

Colette cut them short by saying, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Upon recognizing that Emil wasn't, in fact, alone in his rescue, Marta gasped. "Colette! And Sheena and Zelos, too!"

Seemingly from out of nowhere, Tenebrae sulked, "I'm here as well." Marta swore she hadn't forgotten him and thanked him with an embrace.

Not wanting to dwell on the reunion, Zelos spoke to nobody in particular: "So, then, what's next?"

"Like Tenebie was saying, we should get Solum's core back from Marta's father," Colette suggested. "Then Brute will return to his senses, right?"

Marta looked unsure. "Yeah. At this point, I think that's the only way I can get Daddy to listen to reason."

_Some fathers never listen to reason no matter how much you try_ , Zelos thought. His own father had committed suicide after being parted from a lover, leaving behind two innocent, needy children. He wondered if the Cruxis Crystal drove him to that amplified madness. Come to think of it, he never knew how involved his father was with Mithos at all. Yuan had seemed ashamed to say when he had been teaching the young Zelos of Mithos's wishes.

"I wonder where he went," Emil said, bringing Zelos's focus back to the present.

"He said he was staying in the president's office," Marta replied.

"Then, let's raid it," Zelos demanded. "Which way is it?"

"I'll show you. I bet I know this building better than Regal by now." The girl led the group out of her captive room and past the oddly-sat guard. When they couldn't get past the next room without a keycard they didn't have, she said, "Back through that vent, I guess."

Colette insisted upon flying up first and dropped down an unfamiliar piece of rope.

"Where'd you get that?" Sheena asked the angel.

"Found it on that guard we knocked out earlier. Maybe he was trained in tying up his enemies!"

Sheena rolled her eyes, then begrudgingly climbed upward. Zelos offered to "bring up the rear," which garnered a few shifty looks from the girls. Except Colette―she knew why Zelos didn't want to go in front of them. He was still weak from the flight (and probably also the binge drinking).

"Oh, dear," Colette said when he'd climbed up fully. "If I don't get the rope free, that guard could come back up and fight us again! It looks like it's tangled…"

Emil knelt with her and tried to untie the knot. When it wouldn't untie, Sheena offered a four-bladed object which she called a  _shuriken_ to get into the crevices and cut the whole thing off.

"Boy, you don't know how to tie a knot very well, do ya?" Sheena said cautiously.

"I'm sorry. I was never taught that sort of thing. If I ever had a school project, I just had Lloyd help me with it," Colette said gently. "He was always really nice about helping."

Emil sat back on his heels. "Oh! So is that how you ended up at the base? You said Lloyd helped you in," he observed. "Maybe Lloyd's a better guy than I'm letting him be."

Sheena stood and stared at Emil. "Lloyd? She came here with Lloyd?"

"That's right," Colette answered, smiling. "And Zelos. We met him before we arrived."

"S-so… did he say anything to you about…?" A blush spread over Sheena's cheeks like wildfire. Zelos had seen that blush before, and it was not an innocent one.

"About you?" Colette became guarded, haughty. She realized that Sheena was subtly undermining the relationship Lloyd had already established with the girl: a fact Zelos had talked about but she herself had never witnessed until now. She spoke slowly. "Oh, he did ask if you were doing okay."

That was a lie, Zelos knew. He was conscious for most of the time that the serious-business was going down and he doubted that while he was passed out that Colette was worried about Sheena, of all people.

"Really? Now why would he―"

"You know. You fell in that  _hole_  back at the Vanguard base, and he wanted to make sure you weren't hurt. He may have changed, but he hasn't stopped caring about his…  _close_  friends," Colette said. Her face became grave with rare spite.

Sheena looked away and paced. "A ha ha ha… Well, I'm made of sterner stuff than that. No reason to worry about little old me, no sir. I never run into holes like that…"

Marta, who was leaning up against the side of the oversize pipe, bent down to Emil and Colette. "Wait, so does Sheena like Lloyd?"

"I think that's pretty obvious," Emil answered quickly. And luckily, too―Colette was wringing her hands the way she only did when she was upset but didn't want to bother anyone about it.

Feeling vengeful and a bit hurt, Zelos strolled over to the damsel-formerly-in-distress. If nothing else, he wanted to distract himself from the sheer fact that Lloyd's name still roused Sheena. But he also intended to distract the kids from thinking that Colette wasn't just as important to Lloyd. "Dearest Marta, am I glad to see you safe and sound!" he belted. "If we lost you, I'm not sure the people of this world would ever be the same."

"That's… a bit over the top. It's not like Daddy could have hurt me if Ratatosk…"

"No, Marta dear. You simply don't know your own value!" he praised. It was true―she was a valuable distraction. Whatever Lloyd was doing had to have been important enough that he needed everyone's attention elsewhere. He wasn't going to question it. Lloyd was always the important one. He might always be if Zelos didn't remind people as to why he was valuable. "You are far more lovely than any blossom," he continued emphatically. "You sparkle more brightly than  _any_  diamond!"

Marta looked lost for words. "Um…"

"Sorry, Marta. Looks like the last of his screws finally came loose," she attacked.

What "other" screws had been loose? He was always the calculated, crafty one. Didn't she realize that every motive of his served another, greater motive? He closed his eyes in frustration, and then lifted them toward her. "Was I talking to you, Sheena?"

Sheena returned a startled look. At least he had her attention.

"You don't have anything going for you but your chest, and maybe a couple  _screws_  yourself," he spat.  _You wanna bring up your never-ending crush on Lloyd? You'd better be prepared to defend yourself_.

Zelos got what he didn't realize he'd wished for. Sheena lurched forward and kicked the back of his knee, which sent him flying to the ground.

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of you for that!" she howled. She primed her foot to kick him in the ribs, cards drawn the same way they would have been for an enemy fight.

"Ouch! Hold on! That was a kick! At least get your words straight!" Zelos said.

"STOP THAT!" Colette ordered suddenly. Sheena didn't move. Zelos, however, took pains to stand back up for the umpteenth time that day. "Zelos, you shouldn't have said that and you know it," she scolded. "And Sheena, how dare you actually lash out and hit him! Say you're sorry, both of you! Right now!"

The two exchanged wary glances.

"You're kidding, right?" Sheena asked. "We've got better things to do."

"Not if you're going to bicker and slow us down. We'll leave you here. Right, Tenebie?"

The Centurion appeared next to Colette. "Absolutely. We're all here to recover Solum's core," he said solemnly. Then, he added with a chuckle, "and perhaps, to solve the romantic quadrangles involving a certain Lloyd…"

"All right, now  _I'm_  gonna beat the shit out of  _you_ ," Zelos threatened. Tenebrae disappeared yelping before the deal could be carried out, though. He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

"Quick, let's get a move on before I say anything else stupid," Emil muttered.

Marta led the way once more, and it was back down to the original set of rooms and around to a new elevator. The guard at the top was abnormally lonesome and easy to defeat. Where were the rest of the soldiers? Had they not realized Marta was missing yet? Brute might have been baiting them. But Zelos prayed that Lloyd hadn't gotten there first. He still didn't trust that Lloyd was going to let Marta hatch the core instead of taking it himself.

Just before they ran up the carpeted steps of the president's office, another elevator door zapped open. Genis, Raine, and Presea jumped out and nearly ran into Emil.

"Jeez! Looks like the gang's all here!" Genis proclaimed.

"Except Regal," Raine noted. "We didn't find him."

"He wasn't there when I was looking for him, either," Sheena said.

"I'm glad you're okay, though," Colette said to Presea and the others.

"And I doubt the Vanguard would be so foolish as to assassinate such an influential figure. Let's see if Brute isn't holding him hostage personally," Tenebrae said.

A few more brief reunions were had among the members of the regeneration group, but Sheena remained on a polar opposite side from Zelos. He wondered if Raine was picking up on the static between them. If she did, she showed no sign of it, and kept hushed like everyone else when Emil asked Marta if she was prepared to face the situation.

"Yes. I'm going to get my Daddy back. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this, but I'll need your help a little longer. I'm not strong enough to fight against a core on my own," Marta said.

Colette assured her that everything would be all right. Emil then led the way up the long staircase.

It was, like, a billion steps. Or so Zelos conjectured. He still was not feeling fantastic, and every step caused an earthquake in his muscles. So, he was thinking of sidelining for this battle. That is, until he saw the doors kick open to reveal Regal bound in a chair by Alice.

"The time has come! Hand over all the Centurions cores you have, or your precious leader dies," Brute taunted.

Marta gasped. "Stop it!"

"You coward!" Emil asserted concurrently.

"Leader…?" Zelos mumbled to himself. Sure, Regal was El Presidente of Lezareno, but he wasn't the leader of this particular group. In fact, it felt a little like they didn't have a leader, like they were a Ouija board led by some higher goal of self-righteousness. Where were the adults? Were the Vanguard leaders the adults, deciding who was good and who was bad? He made a mental note of Brute's error in case the papers wanted to interview him regarding this ordeal.

Yeah, a part of him was still pandering for attention. Which is why he crept behind everyone else to get closer to Regal, see if he could distract Alice at the right moment.

"It's obvious that you don't understand. Means and methods are insignificant in the eyes of justice!" Brute bellowed, his eyes clouding with rage.

Just as Zelos had cleared the left-most Presea, a bright light knocked Alice to the ground. Zelos scanned the group accusatorily.  _Which the hell one of you casted a spell when you saw me working on this?!_

A new voice called, "Don't even start spewing the word 'justice!'"

Oh.

… Great.

Lloyd Irving (the Magnificent Kill-Stealing Prick) readied a sword with one hand and―how ever so  _polite_ ―helped Regal to his feet with the other.

"What?!" Brute was just as astounded as everyone else. Everyone except for Zelos, who was convinced that Lloyd had sent him and Colette away for the sole purpose of being the hero. But he guessed it was the only thing the poor lad had going for him these days, what with half the world wanting to kill him for one reason or another. Damn shame.

"Now, Emil!" Lloyd ordered.

That was the answer, then: Lloyd was definitely still the leader. Emil compliantly began to swing and strike at Brute, who was very strong. Marta stayed to the sidelines, meek and sticking to healing for this particular battle. It was hard to fight the one you love.

Presea and Raine jumped at the chance for backup. Colette ran toward Alice, now ensuring that she wasn't soon to wake, then flashing her radiant, purple wings in the direction of the Vanguard Commander in an attempt to distract him. By the time Zelos had gotten to Regal, Lloyd had leapt off elsewhere. The Chosen tended to Regal's scrapes and bruises with a blanket healing spell, but it wasn't as effective as he'd have liked.

"Sorry, Reegs, I'm afraid I'm low on power at the moment," Zelos apologized loudly over the battle cries.

"It's all right, Zelos. Just make sure you don't overexert yourself. They wanted to take you, too, since Richter informed his underlings that he had defeated you in Flanoir," Regal said knowingly.

Flushed, Zelos remarked, "Yeah, well, not much to do about that, really…"

Regal looked him squarely in the eye. "Don't do anything stupid. I know it's hard to feel left out in such a large battle, but you've got a sister back home who needs you," he said.

"… Right…" Zelos agreed. As if he'd tried to get in Richter's way before.

But his eyes were back on the floor in an instant, searching for Lloyd. When he found no sign, he double-checked and found that Sheena was missing as well. "Oh, for the love of… god _ **damn**_ it!"

The entrance was left open, meaning that they could have gone off anywhere in the middle of a really climactic battle. Well, if they could do it, he would do it, too. Without a goodbye to the Duke Bryant, Zelos fled for the edge of the room and looked through the door for signs of either.

What he found was a man crumpled over himself and crawling toward the bottom of the steps. Blue hair. Decus? Maybe he was connected to Alice in the way that Zelos was connected to Seles in that they felt each other's pain. He wasn't going to get up those stairs, though. Zelos ran down the side of the wide staircase and toward the only exit in the hallway: the elevator.

While it wasn't a prudent investment for Regal to have built a design where the only way out is by freight elevator to the lowest floor, it worked for Zelos. It narrowed the options, as long as Lloyd and Sheena weren't,  _ugh_ , he couldn't even think it. Well. In the ventilation system. But he honestly doubted that Lloyd would let anyone else have the glory of this day, so he looked for another way.

The elevator smoothly and quickly plummeted to the floor below. There was a short corridor followed by another dead-end-looking door. Unable to twist a nonexistent knob, Zelos pressed everything that looked like a button on the doorjamb. It didn't budge. He kicked it hard―and there it was! A tab at the bottom, like the garages where Yuan kept the Rheairds.

Reaching down to pull it up, he thought he heard the voice of a man beyond the door. He forced the door to open upward.

Instead of a scene straight from the statues in Luin, the room was bare except for Sheena, whose back was to him, and the half-elf bastard, Richter. There was a sweat sheen glowing on Richter's forehead. He must have been fighting before Sheena got to him. But he drew his weapons with a curling smile and zen-like calm.

"Richter," Sheena addressed headily. Her cards were already splayed in her hands as she readied them. "I'm not going to let you get through this door."

"Me either," Zelos proclaimed as he bounded into the room behind her. He was not about to let Sheena get hurt or killed by fighting an enemy she hardly knew, despite her constant protest against his help. Oh, and Sheena was ready to protest, but Zelos ran to her Lloyd-less side so quickly that she had no choice.

Richter began to circle the pair with his weapons pointing maliciously at them. "Well, well," he scoffed, "I never thought it would come down to this. Not after our discussion, Chosen One."

"I never thought you'd be stupid enough to show your face in my presence again. Oh, wait, no―I'm pretty sure I considered it at some point," Zelos insulted. He, too, unsheathed his weapon and aimed it at the opposition. Though his left hand kept a steady grip on his scabbard, his right hand ached with the weight of the sword. Of a sudden, it seemed extraordinarily heavy.

"What are you talking about? What the hell are you doing?" Sheena whispered.

"Nothing. Just back me up, here."

"Wha―?! You expect me to just 'back you up, here?!'" she asked more firmly. "I got here first! Can't you see that Richter's the heart of the Vanguard operation? I can't understand for the life of me why you're making this a personal thing against him! I'm not here for your revenge."

"I," Zelos began, staring still at the man in front of them, "happen to be a Chosen of Mana. That means I've got something he wants."

"That offer for the Cruxis Crystal is still pending, you know. If you wanted to, you could hand it over right now. Then you wouldn't have to risk  _her pretty face_!" Richter shouted. He lunged at Sheena with his axe but was quickly deflected―not from Zelos's poorly-timed block, but from the row of cards Sheena held.

"Damn you, Richter, I thought we'd agreed…"

_CLANK_. A block on the half-elf's end and an unsuccessful strike on Zelos's. But it was just a fluke, he assured himself.

"… they were both…"

CLANG-swish-clangkkkk. Strike, parry, stalemate.

"… off-limits!" Zelos pushed forward and managed to make Richter stumble a few steps.

Meanwhile, Sheena attempted to intervene. "Wait! You made a  _deal_  with him―about  _anything_?!" she called.

"Urgh… Yeah, we… we met earlier," Zelos tried to explain as he defended himself against Richter's incoming attacks. "Had to see what his issues were."

"But he's our enemy!" Sheena declared to no avail. The sound of metal was now dangerous and deep; she could feel the tremors of the blades through her feet. Zelos ducked and slid rather deftly around Richter's laborious hacking. "And―Both… Does that mean… Zelos!"

Immediately, Zelos recognized her tone as one of stern consequence. He was just lucky enough that Richter spared him a moment to respond. "What?"

"What have you told him? … What does he know? Zelos!"

"Just take a look at my back sometime," he hissed.

However, his comment distracted Sheena long enough for Richter to take advantage of it. He released an explosion that knocked her backwards, screeching as she hit the wall.

"You… BASTARD," Zelos declared. He tried not to lose it but he swung with less technique and more emotion than he'd ever swung before. He was grateful to hear the sound of the door opening and support finally arriving in the form of Lloyd and Genis.

"Zelos! We've got your back," Genis called. He began to cast a powerful ice spell.

"Wait―!" Zelos shouted. But it was too late. Richter had taken the hint at the constant mention of Zelos's weak spots and struck him hard between the shoulder blades. It knocked the wind out of him, and he hacked up phlegm mingled with blood before being similarly thrown to the far wall. He collapsed.

Surprisingly, he retained consciousness. It was impossible to keep his eyes open, but he heard Lloyd aggressively attacking on the fore and Genis preparing casts nearby.

"Icicle!" Genis screamed, his voice cracking. The situation couldn't be more high-pressure than this.

"Eternal Summer!" Richter countered.

Genis flew back, wounded. He whimpered, "He's… too strong…"

Meanwhile, Lloyd's swords clashed like thunder against Richter's weapons. He did not yield for a moment, causing wonder as to why he was suddenly so strong. Perhaps the Exsphere journey had enhanced his powers? But that would be completely opposite the plan. If Lloyd was going to eliminate all the Exspheres because they were immoral in their sheer existence, it would be hypocrisy to possess one.

Unless… Yuan may have enhanced the Exsphere. Yuan may just have elevated Lloyd's gem into a Cruxis Crystal, Zelos thought. But why? Why did Lloyd need this power to go against a random half-elf? There was certainly no need for more Cruxis Crystal experimentation. Guilt of Martel.

Lloyd skidded back and put up a defensive stance. "Why are you so powerful?" he shouted.

"Why are  _you_  so powerful?" Zelos might have said if he could make his lungs work.

"I guess the heroes of regeneration are no match against the powers of the demonic realm," Richter growled.

Another voice joined, fragile. "Richter, why?" Emil was in the doorway, and Zelos heard Lloyd's boots scuffing over to jump in front of the boy.

"Emil, I've already made up my mind. Your form no longer matters to me. I will kill you!" Richter threatened. There was another thunderous joining of swords. Then, more footsteps that rushed to Zelos's side.

"Zelos! Are you conscious?" It was Raine, putting the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Hhhh… Hhhyeah," he managed to huff.

"I want to roll you onto your side. Where are you in pain? Are you at a risk for vomiting? Look at me." Raine used a thumb to lift his eyelid and tried to get him to follow her finger. She sighed. "Looks like we need a Revitalize."

She put one hand on Zelos's forehead and the other over his heart. "Root of all creation," she chanted, "grant us the breath of life. Revitalize!"

Zelos opened his squinting eyes at the blue circle of light forming underneath him. His back seared for a moment before all pain subsided. He was left numb and curled on his side. Raine dashed off to the sidelines of the battle, where Lloyd was taking turns with Emil in sparring with Richter. Marta squatted, waiting for a heal. Colette was even taking part in the battle by hurling her discs from a distance. Regal and Presea were still at large, however.

"You're covered in blood!" Genis shouted as he rose to his feet nearby.

"What…?" the Chosen stuttered. He struggled over sore legs to stand up. Genis was right: there was another splatter of blood underneath his feet. He sighed. "Oh, great, just what I needed. More dry-cleaning."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sheena looking over at him. She looked perfectly fine. Not a scratch except for maybe a bruise not visible underneath her clothing, he guessed. But her mouth was open as though she wanted to say something.

"Should we try to get in there?" Zelos asked Genis.

"Looks like Richter might be wearing down," the half-elf posited. "Just wait."

Within moments, Richter was down on one knee, axe overhead for protection. But Emil would not defer. The boy laughed most maniacally before declaring, "AIN! SOPH! AUR!"

Richter was barely able to get to his feet before countering with a strange spell Zelos had never heard of.

"This arte! This timing… You really are Ratatosk," Richter concluded. Colette gasped and rushed over to Lloyd, to whom she clung.

Emil collapsed in front of the tense audience of the Regeneration group. Raine began casting a spell.

"Wait, he's not hurt," Richter ordered. He looked at everyone with a guilty expression.

Emil kept his head bowed. "I… I remember. And then…" Suddenly, his body snapped upward. "And then out of nowhere he―!"

"I will avenge Aster's death!" Richter screamed, lunging toward Emil (Ratatosk?) with renewed hatred.

So that's what his plan was, Zelos thought. Ratatosk killed Aster, so Aster had to be avenged. Lloyd had told them that Emil was closely connected to Ratatosk, but there was no way he could actually be Ratatosk, was there? Perhaps Emil was just a shell housing Ratatosk's spirit. But there was no reasoning behind why the body had to be killed if the spirit wasn't connected. Emil seemed like he was enough of his own person, at least until he fought. What was Richter getting at by using some demonic realm? He always was a show-off.

But Lloyd stood firmly in front of Emil to block the incoming slash from Richter. "I can't let you kill Ratatosk!" Lloyd barked.

"Lloyd IRVING! Why do you always insist on getting in my way? WHY DOES IT MATTER TO YOU?" Richter screeched, his voice torn up from emotion.

"Right now? I'm going to stop you as Emil's friend!" Lloyd replied. Zelos had to roll his eyes. That 'friend' bit was getting old, but―hey, Lloyd was back to referring to people as his friends! That was a good sign, right? Even if Emil wasn't exactly a friend at this point, it confirmed that Ratatosk and Emil were separate beings. Or, so, Zelos would have to conclude.

The two men clanked and swished their weapons in a bit of a stalemate until two very large, floating creatures entered the room. Sheena squeaked. She had seen that one of the creatures was carrying a rider.

"Aramis!"

The voice atop one of the creatures belonged to none other than Alice, whose tear-stained face was more desperate than angry. She motioned for Richter to join her. And so, unable to disagree with his heart so opened, Richter clambered up the saddle and sped behind Alice to escape.

Lloyd spat on the ground. "I guess  _you_  can't use the power from the demonic realm as often as you'd like!" He turned backward to Emil. "Emil, are you all right?"

The boy's blond hair was now a stark contrast to his grey face. He swayed. Zelos braced himself in the event the boy should vomit violently, but instead Emil just pitched backward. Marta caught him with waiting arms.

"Emil!" she called. "Emil?"

Raine rushed over to check his pulse, but quickly stated, "He's just out cold. Still alive. But we should move him to a safe location."

"Daddy's already being treated by someone. The medics came to get him almost immediately… I know they're around here," Marta said, lying Emil on his side.

Zelos felt awkward witnessing the injured boy. He knew a couple of healing spells, but for the most part his expertise was elsewhere. Besides, his spells were getting weaker by the day. He'd be of no help, and worse, he felt no compunction to treat the kid. It would be too many cooks in the kitchen.

Regal appeared in the doorway after having been nowhere to be seen during the battle. "What's going on here?" he asked the small assembly of healers.

"Emil passed out. We're going to need a real medic from all the damage Richter did," Marta said.

"But even so, aren't there no hospitals nearby?" Genis interrupted. "I don't know if I trust Vanguard medicine."

After a pause, Regal said, "We'll set up the unused floors of the hotel for the injured. Not just Brute and Emil, but any other Vanguard soldiers that might have gotten in the way of our mission."

Marta nodded. "Okay. Should we send a team to do that, and then have us healers move Emil to a better spot?"

Regal shook his head. "No, Presea is already coordinating with George to send help for Brute, so the same boat can be used to transport Emil out of this building and to the mainland. We'll use the rest of our resources to secure the city. After all, there are only so many of us…"

"D-did you say boat?" Marta stuttered. "I guess if it's for Emil, I'll stay with him no matter what."

Raine blanched, though her annoyance shone through. "A boat, Regal? Really?"

"Don't worry, Professor! I can fly you over! Still got my angel wings," Colette proffered. Raine smiled with relief.

Marta looked expectantly at Zelos. "Can you fly me, Zelos? So I can be with Emil and Daddy?"

Her eyes were so innocent and filled with expectation. It actually hurt him to have to let her down, being that she looked up to him in a way his ungrateful sister probably never would. He sighed.

"Sorry, kiddo, no can do," he said. Sheena bounded toward him with giant steps.

"What are you  _talking_  about?" she asked harshly. "Would it kill you to be nice in a situation that actually calls for it?"

Colette's face flushed. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, Zelos. I didn't mean to boast. I just wanted to offer, y'know, since the Professor can't go on the water…" She caught Sheena's skeptical expression and continued, "Zelos got hurt while he was carrying me to safety. His wings aren't working that great."

"I don't think they're working at all," Zelos chimed in. "Richter got my back pretty good both times."

"Either way," Lloyd roared above them, "we need to get started. Separate into groups. I'm going to help with Emil, since I feel partially responsible."

"And I'll go back to the hotel," Genis said. "We need to get things set up there!"

" _And_  Presea's there," Colette teased.

Genis blushed and pushed past her. "Shut up! Let's get going!"

"I'll accompany him as well," Regal decided. It was, after all, his obligation to oversee the city as a whole.

Zelos didn't want to bog anyone down with his injury, so he figured it'd be best to follow their suit. He started for the door where Regal had fled and got pretty far down the corridor. Then, he felt a tug at his wrist from behind. It was, unfortunately, Sheena.

"What? Aren't you gonna, y'know, go with  _Lloyd_?" Zelos reproved. He shook her hand off gently but assertively.

"You stupid Chosen! Why can't you just listen to what I have to say?"

Zelos turned to face her and goaded her with raised eyebrows.

"I know I've been weird and confusing lately, and I have my reasons. But you have to be careful. You're really overexerting yourself," she pleaded. "And besides, I'm useless without the Summon Spirits. I can't summon what won't respond to me."

"… I just don't understand why you feel… after all this time, if you really thought it was true that our paths aren't supposed to cross…" Zelos muttered. "Y'know what, forget it. We have more important things to do."

"No―" Sheena rushed to grab his hand. "There really is something we have to talk about, but it can wait until we've set up this hospital. I promise. Just, please take it easy."

"I don't get what you could possibly have to say that you couldn't give me a hint."

"It's about that cheap ring, and―and  _Lloyd_ , and I why wanted you to stay out of Flanoir," she confessed quickly. A pair of important-looking Vanguard soldiers jogged through the hall and pushed the pair to the side. "Let's just go, okay?"

Zelos shrugged and followed Sheena toward the exit elevator. As he hadn't arrived in the most conventional way to the facility, it was better that she led the way. He'd bet Orochi sent  _her_  a map.

When the two of them arrived at the ferry and met Regal and Genis, they set off for the mainland.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX

Zelos fwump-ed down on the stairs in front of the resort hotel. Man, that place was a ghost town. Even before the Vanguard's invasion, Altamira's tourism industry thinned out from the bad weather. The setting sun reflected off the empty, glittery shore.

Alone for the first time since the omelet incident, he quieted his breathing to hear the rhythm of nature. The waves pulling in, then out. The birds migrating overhead; here for one moment, gone just as he realized which direction the squawking was coming from. And there was the water, deep, dark tones sharp against the sun's glowing rays.

He reached in his pocket again and drew out the small metal ring. Turning it, he leveled the jewel with the height of the sun. If he could reach out far enough, he could make that sunset into a jewel, too, he bet. But the ocean roared with a protesting wave.

How vast it all was. He felt very small, like the time he described to Seles the creation story of the two worlds. "There's Derris-Kharlan," he'd said, pointing out a star in the distance. "It's a world where the angels roam and reproduce into another race entirely. They have their own buildings, cities… It's a vast network bigger than anything I've seen on Tethe'alla."

"We are all so small, humans," Seles had replied sagely.

_We're all small, but there's only one Chosen on Tethe'alla_.

"And boy, does he have problems," Zelos said aloud.

"Who has problems?"

Beside him, Lloyd marched down the steps and leveled with his eyesight.

"Agh! A little warning there, buddy," Zelos startled. He quickly pressed the ring into his fist.

"You're not in one of your secretive moods, are you?" Lloyd asked. "Because I thought maybe I could get you to hang out with a couple of us at the casino tonight! Celebrate a hard-earned victory, have the whole place to ourselves…" He sat down next to Zelos and pondered a moment. "I guess George will be there, too, but  _mostly_  the old gang."

Zelos smiled weakly. He had no intention of going. Nevertheless, he said, "Maybe. I'm feelin' a little bruised from before. And you know how I look without my beauty rest!"

"You don't have to be that guy, you know!"

Zelos slumped. "Be  _what_  guy, Lloyd? I'm tired. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to follow in Brute's footsteps and just… rest." When he saw Lloyd's skeptical mug, he continued, "… with all the available hunnies in the district…!"

Lloyd grumbled and stood up. "Yeah, there it is. All right, well, if you insist. You really should join us, though. We're meeting at ten. And if you miss that, we'll wake you up for the meeting in the morning."

"Thaaaaaaanks, Bud," Zelos crooned. You'd have thought Lloyd had just re-regenerated the world by the way he strutted and hopped, inviting friends for drinks like the good ol' days. Zelos just let him go, waiting for the close of the automatic doors to signal renewed isolation.

Zelos stood suddenly. Wasn't Sheena supposed to be having a chat with him? He swore under his breath then took another look at the ring in his hand.

"Useless now," he muttered. He walked as though floating toward the shore beyond the resort's stone-paved borders. Calmly, he clutched the ring to his chest, lamented its insipid new symbolism, and made to throw it into the water.

But it wouldn't let go.

That green ring, by its own magnetism or stupidity, or perhaps by catching on the fiber of his gloves, would not be thrown.

"Seriously? Do you have your own, like, Summon Spirit?" he shouted at it.

The ring didn't reply, so he put the damn tenacious thing back in its pocket home and trudged back to the resort.

Up the elevator a couple floors, Zelos lounged in a room with a single bed. No need to share if the entire hotel was unbooked aside from the injured, he figured. And no need to bother with making amends with the group. He'd sort of wished there were a way to communicate with Seles. Every time he tried to tap into his Cruxis Crystal, he didn't get any reception. It was numb like a dead nerve. If only Richter hadn't gotten away with so much, he wouldn't need to rest like this…

Someone rapped lightly on the door.

"What's up," he stated more than asked.

The door inched open, and it wasn't Colette or Presea peeking in to check up on him―it was Sheena.

He sat up a little straighter. "Um, hey. Do you need something?"

"I just… wanted to talk, like I said we should," Sheena said. "Is it okay if I come in?"

Zelos fought the urge to say no. "I guess."

"Can I, um, can I sit with you?" she asked clumsily.

"Go ahead."

"No need to be so distant. Really, Zelos," she soothed. She took a perch on the edge of the bed, facing him.

"I know, I know, I'm just some stupid Chosen who doesn't know how to do anything right. Leave it to me to put you in danger again," he droned.

"Please. I was the one that left the room when we fought Brute. I had a weird feeling that someone would want to ambush us after we took out their leader." She looked down at her lap, then back at him. "I'm sorry, Zelos."

"… I want to say it's okay, but it's really not. I mean, me getting pretty beaten up, that's a given. But you had to kick me when I'm down, literally?" His voice hitched to a halt and he looked away. "Pretty rotten."

"I know what it looked like," Sheena said. "I've made a lot of mistakes, being angry. And I'm sorry."

Zelos wanted to prolong the satisfaction of accepting such an apology, so instead, he replied, "So gimme the details on this ring."

Sheena took a deep breath. "Okay. All at once like a band-aid, or do you want me to give you time to think?"

"All at once like a band-aid," Zelos chose. Better for him not to think, though he smiled a little at her use of a phrase they used to use exclusively with each other.

"The ring. I obviously kept it. I wanted… Well, never mind that part. After I... left, I had heard all the rumors that Lloyd was being accused of those horrible things. I wanted to reach out to you, I really did, but I just didn't have the guts. Mizuho made me so busy. And that's it, too―they made me head of their Network, coordinating this and that with the Vanguard." She paused.

"Go on," Zelos goaded, "Please, while I can medically take whatever you're going to say."

"Fine. I just hope you know I'm sorry for that. It seemed easier to cut ties than to fight what Mizuho wanted for me. I'm sure you know what that's like, what with politics sucking you in over there in Meltokio." He nodded. "So, I started working on tracing the movements of the Vanguard. It was my magnum opus mystery. But I guess I couldn't save those victims in Palmacosta, and even if I did, it wouldn't bring back all the victims from the… Volt incident. It was dumb."

"So that was before you met Emil, right?" Zelos asked.

"Yep. And then we got word of Marta needing protection―well, to be honest, the Governor-General's wife said I should follow her, so I did. For a while. But while I was following her in Flanoir, after a big attack from the Vanguard, I found out that a couple of my scouts had run into Richter. One got away, and one died from the mere hands of the man. I couldn't take his death personally. But the man that survived told me that Richter was looking for the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal. I… I didn't want you to get hurt, so I left the ring there because I knew you'd remember it. I thought you'd trust it."

Zelos raised his eyebrows. "If you just left the ring with no message, I'd think you were still somewhere in the city."

Sheena blushed. "Really? I… I thought you'd catch on… the Mizuho tradition―oh, but I guess it's Mizuhoan, and you're still not technically Mizuhoan, are you. Um!" She reached up to put her hair behind her ear. "Well, I didn't want you to get in Richter's way. Yuan actually ordered me to keep some information from you about your Cruxis Crystal just in case you got any ideas…"

"Can I hear it now?"

"… I'm not sure I should."

"When did you find out?" Zelos asked, putting his hands in front of his folded legs.

"Actually… Yuan told me a long time ago. That's why I didn't want to go near you. I was afraid I would say something," Sheena admitted, meeting his eyes with hers. "It's something Richter probably already knows. It scared me at first, but now… I'm not sure."

There was a silence, and Sheena reached out to cover his hands with hers.

"Do you promise not to let this change the way you act when Emil's around?" she said quietly.

"Cruxis my heart and hope to die," Zelos troped. "But seriously, yes. I kept the secret about Ratatosk for a while."

Sheena looked into his eyes with frustration. "Then… Yuan told me your Cruxis Crystal is different from Colette's. It… prolongs the life of its wearer."

"Oh, I knew that already," Zelos said.

"―No, but,  _yours_ , since it's full of so many successfully-bred Chosen, well… Mithos intended the wearer to live forever, just like he did. So Richter wants to have that power to make sure the demons inside him destroy Ratatosk and reign eternal."

"… Shit." Zelos calmed his thoughts. "So I'm immortal if I keep wearing it?"

"You can't fight without it, either," Sheena admitted sorrowfully. "So… when Yuan told me, I thought… I already felt my body changing, everything not quite as elastic as it used to be. And I'd look at you and think of how when I got old, you might leave me for someone who was still young and―and pretty…"

"Is that all?" deadpanned the Chosen. Sheena's eyes were brimming with saline. He reached up to touch her cheek with one hand. "You really don't think you  _deserve_  me enough, so you left?"

"I… I just couldn't, okay?" she shouted, shaking his hand free. "But it's not like Lloyd was very understanding. He just―never understands what it's like!" she diverted.

"Sheena, listen. I don't care if the Crystal is supposed to make me immortal. I'll give it to Seles if I have to―hell, that's probably the better option!" Zelos exclaimed. His heart was racing with opportunity. Not that he would actually give it to Seles and make her unwittingly live forever.

"That doesn't excuse what I did," Sheena sniffled.

"Nor does it explain the other questions I have for that blue-haired sonuvabitch, but it sure does make more sense now. Why you didn't want to go with me, when we were at the lake." He rested his hand on her shoulder. "But you're saying enough just by being here."

She rubbed her eyes with her hand. Once again, she seemed a child in the way she couldn't find the right words to say. So she reached out her hands to grab his jaw and bring him close to her. And he found her lips easily, back into the pattern they had so many months ago, clutching her close to him because she was the only thing that existed.

When Zelos broke away, he held her hands firmly. "So, this wasn't about going back to Lloyd?"

She shook her head.

"And you really don't care about this-all?" He gestured to his Cruxis Crystal.

"I've never felt like I needed you more, all of a sudden," Sheena said breathlessly, defeated.

Zelos smirked. "I'm sorry I said you weren't good for anything but your chest," he whispered.

"So, what else am I good for?" Sheena smiled into another kiss.

"Making me feel like I want to protect you and follow you no matter how idiotic it sounds…"

Sheena smacked him upside the head lightly. "You stupid Chosen. It doesn't sound idiotic." She nudged his nose with hers. "It sounds just idiotic enough to work."

"… So, am I gonna get laid?"

WHAM. A much more violent smack. " _REALLY_?!"


	11. A Chance to Be

"It is I, the Wonder Chef!"

"Uh… what?"

Colette, on her way to meet Lloyd in the lobby, had encountered an unexpected stop on the elevator ride, where a small man in a chef's hat held the door open with a giant fork as he strolled in to join her.

"You know, the famous Wonder Chef!" the man repeated. At Colette's blank stare, he tried, "Purveyor of recipes?"

"Um, what floor do you want?" Colette asked. Her finger was primed for the keypad though the giant fork was still blocking the door from closing.

The Wonder Chef sighed. "Two, please." He moved to the corner opposite the angel.

As the elevator lurched in descent, another moment passed before the Chef spoke again. "If you're ever in need of a good recipe, I'd be more than happy to give you one," he offered.

"No, thanks." Colette smiled and kept to herself.

"… I mean, I just have this extra one, and I'd kind of like to get rid of it. It's for an Omelet." The Wonder Chef presented a folded piece of paper.

"Omelet?" she asked. "… Hey, I know what that is! You can put savory in it. But maybe pineapple, too!"

A synthetic bell signaled the arrival of the car to the second floor. Giving Colette the paper as well as a dismayed look, the Wonder Chef shimmied past and through the door. "Wonder Chef, away…"

"Oh wait, Iforgottosaythankyou!" Colette said hurriedly as the doors again closed and brought her to the first floor. She put the recipe in the cuff of her overcoat.

Lloyd stood near the entrance, engaged in conversation with a distraught Marta. Colette approached them gently.

"I just hope―Colette! What are you doing here?" the younger girl asked, startled as she noticed her.

"Hi Marta! I didn't know you were joining us on our way out," Colette replied. She took to Lloyd's side and leaned on him gently. It was a protective reflex she'd developed since the last group journey―most of the women they encountered tended to find Lloyd "charming," which Zelos would explain meant they had a thing for him. Even Marta, who fawned over Emil constantly, could be suspect to the magnet of Lloyd.

But in the early daylight, Marta looked more upset than ever. Her eyes looked sunken as though she'd been crying all night.

"Well, uh…"

"Brute's doing better but he's in a deep sleep and Emil is going to meet us after a little more sleep," Lloyd explained.

"I wanted to be by both their sides, but it's hard to keep running back and forth all night. I'm fine, really, just kind of… nervous."

"I'm trying to get her to come with us over to the headquarters rather than wait for Emil again."

Colette smiled weakly. "Um, I guess it makes sense. But didn't you want to tell me about something?"

Lloyd looked to Marta briefly. "It can wait. I mean, she didn't even come to our gathering last night."

"You know, it's funny," the young girl interjected, "Daddy had even admonished me for not going and saying there's no point in me sticking around if there's true medical staff. I wish I had hung out with you instead of losing sleep."

Colette sighed. The right thing would be to go with Marta to Lezareno Headquarters since she seemed exhausted, but in her heart Colette just wanted to spend some time alone with Lloyd. It'd been way too long and he'd been more secretive and resistant than ever. Nevertheless, the angel said, "That's sweet of you. All right, then. We'd better get going before people start wondering where we are. Should we go to the ferry?"

"Ferry?" Marta frowned. "But… I get motion sick."

"What? What a coincidence, so does Raine!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I think she was gonna use the underground tunnel."

"That takes longer, though," Colette said quickly. "Do you think Raine's already left?"

"We could call up and see if Raine's still in her room," Lloyd suggested.

Marta opened her mouth to decline the offer―as if she'd been some helpless five-year-old without a way to fend for herself―but just as she had begun to speak, Tenebrae appeared out of nowhere.

"I assume you've forgotten about me entirely, again?" he snarked. Marta looked guilty.

"I thought you were gonna watch over Emil from now on," Marta admitted.

Tenebrae swished his tail. "Nonsense! If you need my protection, I'd be more than happy to assist you."

Marta looked between the two heroes. "I guess I'm covered. I'm fine to wait here if you all want to get going ahead of everyone," she said.

Lloyd nodded. "If you're sure you're all right. We don't want to be rude." He put a hand on Colette's back.

"I'll be fine, thanks. See you guys," Marta replied. She and Tenebrae hung around while Colette and Lloyd made their way to the front door.

Marta sat on the bench, paced in front of the door, glanced at the clock. Tried not to think of Emil's condition.

"Lady Marta, if I'm not mistaken," Tenebrae interrupted, "weren't you supposed to be headed toward the underground passage?"

Marta looked at him disdainfully. "I don't know if I want to go. I didn't want to say, but I think I might need some sleep. Or just… some time to think. Do I really want to know the answers to the questions I've been asking myself all night?"

She bit her lip and strode to the elevator door. After she pressed the up-arrow, she fixated on the light on the button, tempted to press it again despite knowing that it wouldn't bring the elevator faster. Why didn't they have more than one regular-use elevator in the building, anyway?

"Well, I shall be with you whichever way you choose. You needn't worry about being uninformed about your father or Emil, either, as I can tap into their mana signatures."

"But Tenebrae, isn't that invasive? And illegal?" Marta asked.

"Not for a Centurion. That is how I know when to appear! Perhaps your friends don't understand how mana signatures work. It would describe their inability to pronounce my name correctly," he muttered.

"They mean well," Marta defended.

A short DING! sounded the arrival of the elevator car and Tenebrae disappeared in a puff of smoke. The door parted and revealed Zelos and Sheena casually about to exit.

"Hello, my dear Marta!" Zelos addressed, swapping places with her. He left an arm across the door so it wouldn't close before they could properly greet each other.

"Where are you headed?" Sheena asked. She pushed a lock of her bangs behind her ear.

"I'm… um, I get motion sick on boats, so I have to use the passage downstairs," Marta replied, her glance at the up-arrow on the elevator unnoticed. Thankfully, once the doors had opened, the request was cancelled and her unexpected companions would be none the wiser.

"And you're going alone?" Marta nodded at her. "Not on my watch. Wanna go with us? We'll walk with you!"

Zelos shot Sheena a smarmy look. "Really? I thought you wanted to take the ferry, since it's like an amusement park ride," he joked.

"Don't make me hurt you," she threatened. She slapped his shoulder lightly, and let her fingertips catch there. "Seriously, Marta, I wouldn't mind foregoing the ferry to make sure you're okay."

The door nudged against Zelos's arm. "Ow, hey. In or out?"

Marta looked at the both of them standing there so comically  _themselves_  and couldn't help but smile a bit. "All right, I guess I could use some liveliness."

Sheena backtracked into the elevator and Zelos shuffled past his own arm. Marta meanwhile pressed the Employee button with her thumb and backed into the corner.

"So, is Emil coming this morning too, or…?" Zelos looked to Marta for the alternative.

"I'm pretty sure he'll be over by ferry before we even get there. He was better than my father when I left."

"Sheena, haven't your scouts been sending messages for more doctors to come here and help out?"

"To my knowledge," the ninja shrugged. "Busy day, I can't exactly follow them around and scream orders all the time. Besides, there were so many makeshift medics running around that I wasn't exactly worried." She smiled at Marta.

"And hey, princess, if all else fails, we know a guy in Flanoir," Zelos said, although it seemed aimed at an inside joke rather than reassurance toward Marta. He grinned his famous grin and ran a hand through his hair.

There was a gentle bump and doors opened again to reveal the passageway.

"Speaking of Flanoir," Marta cautioned, stepping out and leading the way, "I hear you went through a pretty rough time there, Chosen One."

"Chyeah… My back's still kind of killing me. Shame I'm only staying in the resort briefly. Needless to say, my hunnies couldn't enjoy me to the fullest extent last night!"

Sheena predictably fumed and muttered something about responsibilities-around-innocent-young-women, but Marta persisted. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." There was a tone of sadness in her voice as though she herself had been responsible.

Zelos didn't respond, mostly because he had little nice to say about the whole situation. He had to remind himself that she was like a girl who crept into her father's closet to put on his work boots only to find she was too small for them. The three walked in heavy, dark silence for a while.

It must have been a mile, a mile and a half walk to the Lezareno HQ. But once they had arrived and were whisked to the garden on the roof, they found that while the rest of the company was present, Emil still hadn't arrived.

"Way to get here on time," Genis snarked, mostly at Zelos.

Zelos reached for Genis's head and ruffled his hair; since Presea was nearby, of course the kid felt affronted and backed off. "You know, Regal, maybe your company should invest in a nice above-ground walkway. Or something. The only reason it took us so long to get here is because we didn't want Marta to get motion-sick."

Marta, meanwhile, had found a place to perch over by Colette and Lloyd.

"I disagree," Presea said. "Raine arrived here much earlier than Marta did and both have similar motion sickness ailments. If Marta had gone with Raine, it would have made for a faster meeting time, I believe."

Colette looked sheepish. "Well, that's partially my fault. I should have called her room earlier in the morning."

"Don't apologize," Raine said. "I was up early researching and it actually led me to the archives here long before we were scheduled to meet."

"Either way, we are all here safely, minus Emil, whom Tenebrae intends to bring," Regal stated. "Shall we set the ground rules?"

"Ground rules?" Marta asked.

Raine stood up straighter and crossed her arms. "Yes, it's best for everyone if we make sure the meeting doesn't turn into a brawl. So, we ought to start by making a circle."

Marta stood and joined everyone in the center of the garden.

"Once a teacher, always a teacher," Zelos whispered across Sheena toward her.

"Let's start with a 'no sarcastic jokes at anyone's expense' rule," Sheena said first. Then, to Marta, "Raine's the mediator since she's the only one who can bring us back from the dead." The girl blinked at the morbid insinuation.

"All in favor?" Raine asked. Sheena's hand shot up, followed by Presea's, then slowly everyone else's. Even Zelos stubbornly agreed; it signaled to Marta that what was to transgress was indeed serious.

"I propose that we utilize the rules from our last journey together," Regal offered. "One person speaks at a time. We choose a meeting leader to keep our objectives on task. We address every concern before taking action."

Marta could see Lloyd nodding. Clearly, this group had a rhythm beyond battle. Sure, they could be crude and mysterious, but they sure knew what they were doing. When she thought about it, this was what diplomats should be. Her heart leapt into her throat at the thought that she might actually respect the education system in Tethe'alla for creating this kind of organization.

"I nominate Lloyd for meeting leader, as he has the most knowledge on what's going on here," Regal stated.

The next exchange happened almost instantaneously.

"Seconded," from Colette.

"Thirded," from Genis.

"Other nominations?" Raine asked.

Marta spoke softly. "Shouldn't we wait for Emil to decide what's going to go on?"

"No need," Zelos said. "This is for the  _pre_ -meeting, where we decide our objectives."

"It seems awfully serious."

"It's protocol," Raine resigned. "All those in favor of Lloyd Irving as meeting head?" All raised their hands, although Marta was a bit hesitant.

"I've got it from here," Lloyd said. "And we don't need to be too uptight right now. My objective is to tell you what I know about Richter, but I will warn you that what follows is fairly serious. We also might need to take a bit of a journey for more information. Would you like to hear where Richter is?"

* * *

By the time Tenebrae had escorted Emil to the top of the HQ building, the remaining group had become tense and quiet in anticipation. It took a moment before Lloyd officially began.

"Welcome, Emil," he said authoritatively. "We've found Richter."

Responding to the shocked look on Emil's face, Regal said, "It appears that he went to an old ruin known as the Otherworldly Gate."

"Why would he go there?" Marta asked, and as she tilted her head sideways her pigtails swished, making her seem all the younger.

Tenebrae calmly stated, "That is where the Ginnungagap is located."

"The Ginnungagap? I thought that had been destroyed long ago," Raine said suddenly. Zelos guessed nobody had spoken to her about the findings before now. Even  _he'd_  had the privilege of a sit-down with Lloyd that, while gave him more questions than answers, at least name-dropped the Ginnungagap.

Either way, Zelos was fully aware of the Ginnungagap, and the realm that existed at the end of that fabled corridor: Niflheim. Once-upon-about-ten-years-ago, Yuan had offered him a tome to practice reading the Angelic language. It was a book about Niflheim and the genesis of monsters and beasts of all sorts. If Derris Kharlan was angelic heaven, then Niflheim was absolute hell. The story itself was so grossly detailed that it gave Zelos nightmares for months after he had stopped reading it, and even then he continued to ponder what such a place would be like. What human or elf discovered Niflheim? Who decided to keep it a secret? And thank god Mithos had never gotten his hands on a copy of this book, because he surely would have been making pacts with enemies of Symphonia…

"… Lord Ratatosk created the door which he guarded, the very spot Aster was killed," Tenebrae finished. Oops, missed out on that little history lesson.

"Richter might be using the Ginnungagap to get new powers from demons," Lloyd explained.

It clicked. The reason why Richter was able to throw off the skills of a Cruxis-trained Chosen, the reason why he'd so easily defeated every one of Lloyd's peers, and the reason only Emil was able to counter him all boiled down to demons. Zelos knew they were powerful, but never quite realized the extent of their capabilities. Was Richter possessed?

"So, Richter's been making pacts with the demons of Niflheim in exchange for their power," Zelos pondered aloud.

"Can he really do that?" Marta inquired. Zelos all but shrugged. What other explanation was there? It wasn't like demons worked on a credit system for their power and took the soul of their pact-makers a month later, with interest. That's not how Summon Spirits or demons or any of the incorporeal beasts worked. And he'd know.

"That's ridiculous!" Tenebrae exclaimed. "The demons of Niflheim would not give their power without receiving something in return." Everyone's eyes were on him as they tried to process the information. "Wait… If Richter seeks the death of Lord Ratatosk, that would be in their interest," the Centurion concluded.

"How so?" Lloyd asked.

"The Ginnungagap protected by Lord Ratatosk's existence. So long as Lord Ratatosk is alive, the demons are unable to open the gate."

Presea shifted uncomfortably. "So, Richter's borrowing the power of the demons in exchange… in exchange for killing Emil," she said. For a brief moment, Zelos recalled that she had had headaches in connection to the power of demons on their Regeneration tour. They locked eyes, and although his Cruxis Crystal was still unresponsive, he swore he could feel the swell of a thought from her.

Meanwhile, Emil had chosen to sit down, and so had stumbled over to the edge of the stone circle. "Am I really Ratatosk? I still can't believe it," he gaped, his head in his hands.

"It's only natural that it wouldn't seem real to you. Your current personality is a fabrication put together by Lord Ratatosk. Lord Ratatosk's own memories are kept by the side all of you know as his 'Ratatosk Mode,'" Tenebrae explained.

"I think I get it," Colette mumbled to Lloyd.

"Don't call him a fabrication!" Marta shouted. She went to Emil's side but found it difficult to comfort him, as he recoiled from being touched.

Raine conferred with Regal before reminding the girl: "I know it's hard to accept, Marta, but what Tenebrae's saying is most likely correct."

"Raine has thought from the very beginning that Emil's personality was established to protect another identity within himself," Regal added. If Marta hadn't been in such a mood, she would have swooned at how romantic it was that the two had discussed this before ―even if it was strictly business conversation. But she was glaring at the ground.

"So you think Emil isn't real, either?"

Presea offered quietly, "No. I think both of his personalities are as much Emil's as they are Ratatosk's." For all Zelos knew, Presea was already communing with the demons and figuring this out much faster than Tenebrae.

Then Zelos felt Sheena's elbow brush against his arm lightly. He turned his head to see her eyes expectantly trained on him.

"Well?" she said softly.

"Well, what?"

"You know what that's like."

It was perhaps the single most piercing thing she'd said to him, to memory. Not vitriol, not even an insult. He  _did_  know what it was like to have two fiercely dueling lives. One part of him was resigned to do whatever Cruxis asked to relinquish that damned title, even die for it; but the other part was a tiny, pounding glimmer of hope that someone would help him. Would Emil have the same flash of martyrdom?

Of course not. No, Emil was made of something different. Emil was living in the now and future, and so much of Zelos's life was rooted in the past and in things he couldn't change. The Cruxis route was not an option even in the metaphor of sacrifice of Lord Ratatosk to Richter. There was no way the "fabricated" part of Emil would buy into that. And it made him feel weak, if just for a moment, that Sheena knew he'd be having this debate. But hadn't he chosen life, in the end? Rather than dying and sacrifice, Zelos found a way to beat the system, save his friends, and generally come out on top. Despite the things Yuan and Mithos had bored into his head about his uselessness, it turned out that siding with the strongest meant siding with himself.  _He_  was the strongest, whoever he was. Child taken advantage of, or self-made success machine. It was still him.

So Emil still had to be Emil, no matter what strange amalgamation came from fake memories.

When Zelos withdrew into his thoughts, Sheena turned to Emil. "I know this is difficult for you and it'll take some time to sort out." Zelos looked up at her with a skewed smile. What a goddamn motherly thing to say, you minx. And yet, probably what Emil would want to hear, although his slumped exterior indicated anything but a sense of feeling comforted.

Lloyd then alerted the group to what they had been waiting for the entire meeting. "I think I can shed some light on Emil's questions."

"What do you mean? You have answers?" Marta asked.

"I've made a pact, so I can't say anything about it for the time being. But I can take you to someone who can."

"Please take me there," Emil entreated.

Before Lloyd could whisk himself away on a hidden Rheiard (who wouldn't put it past him, these days?), Zelos said, "I'd like to know, too. And maybe whoever it is can tell us something about what you've been doing all this time, Lloyd."

"Fine. Come to the World Tree. The Tree's guardian will tell you what you need to know," he said.

Predictably, Lloyd turned on his heel and made on his way, as though everyone were primed to follow him. Was this urgency or arrogance? At any rate, the mention of the World Tree―much less its guardian―made Zelos very uneasy. He had suspected that Yuan's ties to Lloyd ran deep, but wasn't expecting that the pair of them would keep information from even him. Wasn't it his job to know everything before anyone knew everything?

"Lloyd, wait!" Colette shouted after him, and before she could be stopped she was gone as well.

Concerned, Marta asked Emil whether he would take her along.

"It's too dangerous. I might actually be Ratatosk. I might be trying to destroy the world," the boy mumbled.

"I don't care about that! I've traveled with you all this time, and I know you're not that sort of person!"

"We all know that," Genis assured.

"Yeah, it's not worth it to push people away. Trust me," Zelos followed.

"We should depart. While I can trust Emil, I'm still not sure I can trust Lloyd when he travels so swiftly ahead of us," Regal said sagely.

The journeyers minus Colette and Lloyd took the ferry back to the resort, as it was indeed the fastest method. Marta was too busy biting her nails to fret over the rocking of the craft, but Raine looked infinitely paler by the time they returned to the resort.

Sure enough, there was no sign of Colette or Lloyd in the resort at all. Their effects were missing, likely packed away for another turbulent adventure. It was a jolt to the gut to the rest of them, as though they couldn't pack fast enough because, "what if." What if Lloyd was leading them into a trap? What if this Ratatosk business was much more serious than anyone had imagined and this was the final journey?

Zelos applied one final layer of herbal gel to his back, unsure of whether or not a battle was on the horizon. And he tried another tap into his Cruxis Crystal. Nothing. Nothing. No pain, even. It dizzied him to think that this unresponsive jewel was full of dynasties of dead Chosens conspiring to keep him alive forever, yet didn't have any particular way to communicate with him. With the pain on his back, he was incredulous that he wasn't dead already. Work faster, immortal voodoo. He still didn't know if he believed it.

Once he had secured his valuables―rings still burning into his pockets, mind―he was down in the lobby. Yet again, however, the elevator doors opened to a surprising scene.

Orochi shifted upon seeing him to an aggressive stance, almost guarding the ninja he was chatting up. Raine, Regal, and Marta were waiting by the main entrance, and perhaps distancing themselves for a reason. Orochi hadn't even said anything after Zelos strolled out from the door, but Sheena was intent upon finishing whatever conversation it was that they were having.

"So who decided that Lloyd hears the reports before me?" Sheena asserted, her low voice rising to a flare. She looked for Regal. "Hey Regal, did you know about this?"

But the duke wasn't having it. He pretended not to hear, focusing instead on the designs on the floor.

"It is not he whom I serve, Chief."

"Then exactly who  _do_  you serve, Orochi? Who does the T-MIN serve? Not Mizuho, last time I checked, otherwise I wouldn't have been the last one to know."

"It is my job to protect the Chief of Mizuho…"

"From information? That's my  _job_! Just―just get out of my sight until you come to your senses."

Orochi was taken aback. "But Sheena…"

"OUT. I have business to attend to."

The familiar cloud of smoke arose and Orochi was gone in what had to have been the loudest encounter between ninja in the history of Mizuho. Zelos almost laughed at the absurdity, at the joy of seeing Orochi shot down by the one woman he seemed to idolize. But it didn't feel appropriate, especially since the hotel staff had silenced themselves after the tense exchange. Zelos didn't chance to move.

"I'm fairly certain that Lloyd has a reason, if that is the case," Regal spoke up after a time.

Zelos looked to Sheena's wrenched expression and was surprised at how vulnerable she looked out of nowhere. Usually, she just got angry. This time, it was like Orochi instead had betrayed the town of Mizuho for bringing the news. Which was ironic, once he thought about it, because Orochi, in not stopping his snake of a brother, had probably betrayed the town of Mizuho more than anyone else had in recent history.

"I'm―I'm sorry you had to see that, guys. Normally it's a lot more… professional," Sheena apologized. And the vulnerability was gone almost faster than it had arrived. Still, something was very wrong.

Zelos approached her gingerly. "Hey, should I be worried about that?"

"Not now, Zelos," she spat. "… Maybe later. Not now. I don't even know what just happened."

"If it's any consolation," he added sidelong, "I kind of feel like what we're about to learn is going to make me feel the same way. Usually we're in the know before everyone else."

Sheena wrung her hands and folded her arms. "You'd better say something to make me hit you soon. I need to hit  _someone_ ," she grumbled.

Zelos couldn't manage anything clever enough. He felt tired, un-clever, mostly annoyed. He let the group assemble, followed them out of the city. To think he'd made the journey to see Yuan alone not long ago. He wondered what the man would have to say, especially now that his secret about the Cruxis Crystal had been revealed.

But then he wondered what that meant for Sheena. Surely, if it had been a broken pact to reveal the information, she'd have been punished already. Right?

It was an hour or two before anyone dared to say a word. Traveling by foot was never the efficient option, but even less so when Zelos had wings, and for god's sake so did Colette if she would ever show up. They  _could_  get there faster.

Tenebrae appeared from Emil's side and floated himself right up next to Zelos.

"So! You seem to think highly of yourself," the Centurion began.

"Wow, how do you follow that introduction? Sheesh, people love me less and less these days."

"On the contrary. I am actually interested in hearing an answer and since you've been eerily quiet for some time now, I have a feeling that this trip holds some meaning to you," Tenebrae concluded.

"Well that just makes me sound creepy. I dunno, go for it, but I can't guarantee I'll know the answer better than you," Zelos entertained.

"Fine," Tenebrae agreed, then continued, "The World Tree is the mana-producing tree that was born after the Giant Kharlan Tree withered, correct? What is its name?"

"Well,  _that_  came out of the blue. Who cares? It's just a name, right?" Zelos scoffed over a veneer. He glanced around him to see if anyone had heard the question. Tenebrae sure knew how to go straight for the jugular when it came to gossip and gaps in knowledge.

"If it has a name, I've never heard of it," Marta said. Crap. She'd been eavesdropping right behind him.

He needed a redirect, and so threw his arm around her to draw her in.

"I'd love nothing more than to answer all  _your_  questions, Marta, my dear," he flourished. The other guy knew how to press buttons too easily.

And, as if it weren't bad enough that Marta had heard him, Presea, who had been taking the rear, took notice of potential danger and hissed, "ZELOS!"

The pair of them knew that they'd made a pact on their own lives not to share the name. It was a little insulting to think that Presea didn't trust him with that information considering just how much he'd kept secret from her during his whole, y'know, betrayal thing; however, it was just the break he needed.

"Don't worry, Presea. I won't break my promise to…  _Martel_." Emphasizing her name made it seem more epic, somehow. Marta's eyes widened and she couldn't withhold a gasp.

Which, naturally, brought Emil all but running over. "Wait―your promise to Martel?! As in Martel, the goddess?"

"The one and only!"

Marta skipped in front of Zelos and began to walk backward. "You met with Martel? That's incredible! I guess you really are the Chosen of the Church!" she squealed.

"Martel helped us out quite a bit during our last journey…"

"No way! You actually got to meet a goddess?!" Emil asked, agape.

"One at a tiiiime," Zelos cautioned, coolly adjusting his vest. "Of  _course_  we met her, but it wasn't because I'm the Chosen. Actually, if Colette hadn't been the Chosen of Sylvarant, I doubt we'd have met Martel at all! You see, I didn't meet Martel just because of this ol' Cruxis Crystal, but I  _did_  meet some other real angels."

"Angels, too?"

"Marta, didn't you know? The angels even have a language of their own. Of course, I can read and write it fluently, and that came in handy more than once." Zelos couldn't help but grin. He wondered if anyone remembered that time in the castle.

"Zelos… you are a bad liar," Presea replied.

"Oh come on, I definitely  _did_  use it. Had nothing to do with what you all were doing at the time, but in the end it might have saved your life!"

"I'm told that I would have said, 'Chances of being saved by Zelos, less than point-four-nine.'"

Tenebrae scoffed. "If nothing else, it was a clever way to change the subject."

With the commotion going on in the back of the group, Genis couldn't help but turn his attention away from hauling supplies near his sister. (He missed Noishe.) "Hey, Presea? Why did you do that thing just now?" he called, looking back.

Presea raised her eyebrows slightly. "Oh, the statistic? It was just a reference to how I was during the Regeneration. We were talking about the time that Zelos didn't ever actually use his angel-language skills."

"Pff, yeah, he likes to talk about how smart he is, but he couldn't beat me or Raine when the Academy tested us," Genis snarked. Emil and Marta exchanged dumbfounded looks. "What, you're not surprised he's dumber than me?"

"I believe," Tenebrae interrupted, "they are gawking at your use of the word 'Academy.'"

"Oh, right! You lived in Palmacosta." Genis trotted over next to Presea. "You know much about that place?"

"YOU went to the Academy?" Marta exclaimed.

"You met a goddess AND you went to the Academy?" Emil followed.

Genis grabbed his collar with both hands and proudly answered, "Yep! I was totally the youngest person to be accepted. But I couldn't go, 'cause, you know, that whole goddess thing." He looked at Presea, who hadn't been beaming nearly as much, but was locked in fascination with the exchange. Everyone acted far older than their age, it seemed.

"I had no idea. I feel like I'm learning so much!" Marta said gleefully.

"You think  _you're_  learning a lot," Emil said under his breath.

"Now, now, we're all about to find out some very important details," Zelos soothed.

Raine finally turned her head from the path in front of her and shot a look at the young travelers. "We won't get there if everyone keeps distracting me from the path. Genis, do your job," she scolded. Her brother sorely plodded forth. Raine thought for a moment, then said, "Emil, why don't you come up here and help me find the path?"

Another clever redirect, Zelos mused. Make the kid feel like he's necessary. Although, Marta, who should have followed him up to the front lines, stayed behind and looked up expectantly at Zelos.

"You need something?"

Marta wasn't abashed at all of his bluntness. "I do! I want to know more about the Regeneration and nobody else will talk about it like you do."

Zelos craned his neck, but Presea was preoccupied with watching her natural surroundings. "Well, we do have to keep some things secret since we all made a silly little pact, but hey, why the hell not? We've got a ways to go. Go ahead, ask me whatever."

Finally, the girl was back to her talkative self. "I have so many. But! Um! Okay, so, Genis said he was at the Palmacosta Academy but said something about a test, and you and Raine took it?"

"Yeah! We all did, the eight of us, actually. Hah, I actually remember, I think it was out of 400? It was Raine who scored highest, then Genis, then me, then Presea, I think. And then it was that guy over there," Zelos indicated Regal, "Which ain't too bad, considering we hadn't studied since the school days."

"Did you and Regal go to the same school?"

"Nah, not at the same time. He's a great deal older than me. Like, way, way, way older," he emphasized, bartering for a smile from Marta. "Wanna know something great? Lloyd scored a 25."

She didn't give him the shocked expression he was looking for. "Huh."

"You're not surprised?"

"Well… You understand. My view of Lloyd before this was that he'd killed my mother and Emil's… parents. And ravaged the land. It's a little hard for me to see him as a regular guy," she admitted.

"I bet that'll knock him down a couple rungs. He scored the lowest in the history of the Academy, although our records didn't, ah, survive the attack. Shame. Actually, before I found out otherwise, I had this notion that he'd burned down the place so nobody see just how far superior I am!" He chuckled to himself for having just thought that up. He resolved to make it a headline in that damned paper.

"Seriously?" Marta said flatly. "Are you sure it wasn't just a fluke?"

"Not at all, my dear. Like I said, I can read the language of the angels."

"But what did that have to do with the skills in the Academy?!"

"I may have also been valedictorian of my class…"

Marta paused. "… No way. You've gotta be lying. How could  _you_  be valedictorian?"

"Heh. I've had the question asked before," he droned, "but really, even though my life used to be full of partying…" Used to? Good one. "I really was good at math. Just got a knack. And it didn't hurt to have pretty girls take extra notes for me."

Marta's face turned grave. "You're not kidding are you?"

He looked her square in the corneas. "I may have bent the truth before, but you've gotta trust me on this one. Sebastian can't come out here with my diploma..."

There was that part about the girls, though. Sure, Zelos had them  _passing_  notes during class, but they weren't on-topic. And for all the class time he'd missed, it sure as hell wasn't spent lounging with some babes in the sunshine. There were so many days he wasn't even sure he was alive with the trials he went through. Some of it was to undergo the transformation into an angel, yes. Most of it was learning about the history of Cruxis and the entire world, and geography and physics and angelic runes and Martel-knows-what-else. No, really, it was stuff she knew, just in case Zelos  _had_  ended up the unlikely candidate for body transformation. It would make the transition easier if his body and mind had something to offer. At least, that was the theory. There was Colette, who never went through any of this over in Sylvarant. It still didn't seem fair, although he supposed it was expected that she would die during the sacrifice. No use passing on the knowledge if she would go ahead and die before leaving a great legacy.

Yuan hadn't anticipated that Zelos's father, Pyrios, would kill himself before passing on what they'd taught him.

"… I  _have_  to tell Emil! Or at least ask someone who's honest, like Colette," she was replying enthusiastically.

"You'll have to wait on that one," Zelos concluded. He sighed and looked into the dense forest ahead. Just passing through here, then the World Tree would be before them in no time. And though Raine had asked for a guide, he knew she was feeling that familiar pull, just as he did, like they'd traveled this path thousands of times.

"… What score did  _she_  get?" Marta risked after a few minutes.

"Colette? About 200. Not bad considering your guys' education system in rural areas."

"And Sheena?"

"Heh. A couple points behind Colette, actually."

"Really? She seems really smart. After all, she did know how to make a replica of me in enough time to save me up in Flanoir," Marta thought.

"Oh, she is smart. Just not great with books. She was really upset that she lost out to Colette, but, I mean, it's understandable. She's been competitive with Colette since day one."

"Like that time we were up in the air system, and they were arguing about Lloyd…"

"Yeah," Zelos said, flustered. "She really had a thing for him. But it looks like it wasn't going to be. The way he's always with Colette."

Marta poked his shoulder. "The way you're always around her."

He looked down and grinned. "Yeah, I gotta give my hunnies attention." To Presea, he shouted, "Right, my little rosebud?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Chosen One," Presea deadpanned.

"If I didn't know any better, you sure do pay a lot more attention to Sheena," Marta implied.

"Not like how you cling to Emil," he countered.

The girl pursed her lips. "Yeah, but that's different."

"Exactly!"

"No, I mean, you give her quiet attention when nobody's looking. After all, how do I know you weren't smooching in the elevator this morning?"

Zelos cracked a smirk. Only once, to his credit, and even the night before he was too tired and injured to fool around. He fell asleep with Sheena's head on his arm and woke up with the blankets around him like a burrito, and sincerely no guess as to what had happened in between. Probably pain medication.

All of a sudden, he noticed the lights shining through the treetops had dimmed. Apparently, he and the chattering Marta had been too caught up in wordplay to notice that Sheena had stopped walking and was standing with her arms crossed right in front of them.

"Excuse me? Exactly what have you been talking about back here?" Sheena asked with an edge of distrust. Marta straightened up upon noticing that the ninja's hands were poised above where her cards would normally be.

"Well, Zelos was just telling me…"

"… that you're my number one hunny, Number One Hunny!" Zelos finished proudly. Yeah, he was waiting for that SMACK to the upside of his head, almost glad that he was able to relieve Sheena of some anger she must've still had thinking about Orochi. "She can't get enough of me and she knows it," he gloated as she walked away.

"… If that's love, I hope she never hates me," Marta gulped. Zelos nudged her with his elbow and they followed the pack along the trail.

Before sunset, the group had reached the familiar edge of fog that encircled the old Tower of Salvation. It was unrecognizable from its former glory, but certainly for better purpose. After all, the old Tower was so tall because it contained generations of fallen Chosens.

Waiting for them was Colette, who sat at the edge of the fog to clean her discs. Lloyd was nowhere to be seen, but the fog would have shrouded him even if he were three feet behind his companion.

"Colette! Have you been waiting here this whole time?" Raine beckoned.

"Just a little while, Professor. We did have to take out a bunch of monsters that would have been in your way," the girl responded, standing.

"It appears that while the Vanguard has abandoned its attack, the monsters are still disobedient," Regal suggested.

Emil hung his head. "Ratatosk…"

"Right! Well, let's go then!" Colette chirped. "I haven't even seen the Guardian yet. Lloyd's been in there talking with… whoever or whatever it is!"

Zelos looked into the fog and willed his gut not to churn. "You're going to want to be careful when you take us through. Last time I was here, I was ambushed for my sexy human Chosen powers." He shared a quiet moment of dismay with Colette, but the others didn't know whether to laugh off his word choice or sincerely fear.

"I think we should take partners," Genis decided. "I'll take Presea with me!" But of course. Presea couldn't say no at this point, although she had parked herself next to Regal when they had come upon the fog at first.

"And I will take Marta," Raine said. Marta, too, looked hampered. She had likely been hoping to protect Emil, but Regal was already standing protectively over him.

"Which one of you lovely ladies wants to go with me?" Zelos propositioned Colette and Sheena.

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, I'll take Tenebrae."

The Centurion materialized next to her in response. "I'd be delighted to be in the care of a Summoner."

"Aww, come on!" he mourned privately as the rest of the group began to move forward.

"I'll go with you, Zelos. Chosens stick together," Colette said, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but isn't that a dumb idea when Richter could come up behind us and kill two birds with one stone?"

Colette thought for a moment. "I don't think anyone was thinking about that. But look at it this way. If you're behind Sheena, you can pretend there's a darkness beam…" She put her hand to her mouth as though she weren't old enough for the naughtiness of the sentiment.

"Heh. Yeah, fog's quite thick today. But let's go. If all else fails, I'm sure Tenny will sense we're in danger," Zelos dismissed.

The two took small steps forward, Colette clinging to Zelos's shoulder with one hand and to her weapon in the other. It was so grayed out that it didn't even benefit Zelos to know that Sheena's glorious behind was somewhere mere feet in front of him if it wasn't going to be seen. But it was indeed the first thing he saw when the fog lightened up, and with the pink fabric swaying behind her it was hard to remember that he was here on Super Official Business, and should not be living up to a falsified perversion.

In front of him, the fog parted and there stood Lloyd and Yuan, as he expected.

Raine almost toppled over in bafflement. "Yuan! So  _you're_  the guardian of the World Tree." Zelos would have thought that someone, somewhere along the line would have bothered to relay this information. Clara, at the very least. Although, now that he thought about it, Clara had just mentioned teaming up with Yuan, not that his very lifeblood was tied to the Tree's survival. It was Zelos's call via mana signature that aligned the two. Very sneaky, he thought. It was just like Yuan to double-agent all over the place.

"Lloyd has informed me of your current progress. Ratatosk is beginning to awaken," Yuan noted coolly, avoiding Raine's shock.

Emil stumbled to the front of the pack. "Please…" He caught his voice and tried to make it sound steadier. "Please tell me what's going on. What do you know?"

Yuan paced a bit to distance himself from the group, then replied. "Emil, what do you think you are? The Summon Spirit Ratatosk? Or are you a human?"

"Well," he sighed, and looked to Marta, "I… wanna be human."

Marta furled her lip and stared Yuan down. "What's the purpose of trying to figure out what Emil really is? Even if there's some other personality inside of him, Emil is still Emil!"

Colette, although now nearer to Lloyd, turned her head to Zelos. This was starting to be familiar. The whole idea behind being a vessel for a higher power. Colette had known firsthand of what it was like to be possessed by Martel and still have her senses about her during the process. It was entirely possible for Emil to be Emil within, well, Ratatosk. It was the same way Martel could be Martel within the sacrificed Tabatha. The problem wasn't at all that Emil had a schizophrenic split, but that by some ungodly technology, two beings were housed permanently inside one husk.

It was, then, no wonder that Lloyd had been so vehement to destroy the Exspheres. What were they? Dead people lending their power to living mercenaries.

"I'd like to believe that Emil's human kindness is also the kindness of the Summon Spirit Ratatosk," Yuan answered.

"Then… then I guess… I really am the Summon Spirit Ratatosk."

"Essentially, that is true."

And non-essentially? Zelos tried to catch Yuan's gaze, but he was fixed on Emil. Maybe if he could throw a guilty glare, Yuan would crack and throw down some knowledge about what role a Cruxis Crystal played. There had to be something to this husk-and-multiple-personalities, right?

Yuan carried on. "Lloyd and I have been working to protect Ratatosk from wiping out humans and half-elves."

"Then you two have been trying to kill me, just like Richter was trying to," Emil mumbled. It was a wonder he was void of paranoia.

"No. While Ratatosk is the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, he is also the guardian of the Ginnungagap. Without Ratatosk, the Ginnungagap would open, and our world would become Niflheim's domain. We must make sure that never happens."

"And," Lloyd added, "at the request of the Summon Spirit Martel, we've been working to seal Ratatosk within the Ginnungagap."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm still trying to wrap my head around Ratatosk being the Summon Spirit of Mana and now Martel's a Summon Spirit too?" Zelos said, possibly louder than he realized.

Marta ran with his idea. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"I'll explain that, just listen. We intend to bury Ratatosk and the Centurions' cores within the door as a permanent seal. It's the only way to ward off interference from Niflheim and protect mankind."

"Why didn't you tell us all of this before? We could have helped," Colette said incredulously. Zelos's expert ears could tell that she was pained. Weren't they all? After having helped Lloyd so arduously before, had they not merited knowing this information, somehow?

"We couldn't let Ratatosk know anything about what we were trying to do. Ratatosk has a vast network of monsters," Lloyd explained.

Yuan took the cue of nine clueless faces to continue. "It wasn't safe to discuss our plan except near the World Tree. The Tree is impervious to Ratatosk's influence thanks to the new name it received. Had Ratatosk known that we received these instructions from Martel, he would have sought the Tree's new name and then stolen it away from her. If Ratatosk gained possession of the Tree, we would have no means to oppose him. And all of you already know the name of the World Tree."

Oh, that was for sure. Zelos remembered back to the exact moment.

" _Seriously? That's gonna be the name?"_

" _Why not?" Lloyd said. "It only makes sense to honor him in a good light."_

" _You couldn't have just named it Martel?"_

" _Technically, he did," Raine said, "as they shared the surname. Take it to mean what you will."_

The burns were still too fresh for him to consider bringing up the name, regardless of the things Mithos had done that  _hadn't_  directly impacted Zelos's life. If that damned half-elf hadn't lived so long, he wouldn't have brought on the oppression to the Chosen system that destroyed the Wilder family, much less the entirety of Sylvarant ―and he was sure, at some point, Tethe'alla―over the years.

Sheena must have sensed the discomfort in distrust. "That doesn't mean we would have said anything!" she cried. "We promised Martel that until the World Tree was stable, we wouldn't speak of its new name." As if there were another option for her. No, honest though she might be, Sheena was fairly good at hiding things and keeping secrets.

"But you mustn't forget the cores. They're beacons for ill intent that can cause their owners and everyone around them to go mad. If you were affected, you could've easily spoken the tree's name without meaning to," Yuan replied righteously.

Yeah, right. The cores. Derris-Kharlan forbid anyone touch the cores, but here's a shiny crystal containing the souls of thousands of manipulated, dead Chosens that will make you go mad with power over the span of four thousand years. Have a nice day.

"What about Lloyd?" Genis asked sternly. "Why does he get the privilege?"

"As the name giver of the World Tree, I had Martel's protection. The core doesn't affect those blessed by the Tree's Summon Spirit," Lloyd said with tension.

Emil stumbled over his phrasing before he found himself asking, "But wait a minute. Why are you telling me all of this right now? Don't you remember? I'm Ratatosk."

"As Yuan said, we want to believe in you, Emil. Think about it. Have you ever even once enjoyed hurting someone? Even as Ratatosk's true will began to show itself, Emil didn't disappear. We want to believe that that has meaning. That Emil is not an artificially created personality. It's another spirit within Ratatosk. His conscience."

"So what you're saying is that even if Ratatosk wakes up, there's a chance he won't try to destroy everyone?" Marta concluded.

"If Ratatosk isn't the enemy, there's no need for us to seal him within the Ginnungagap. That's why I'll protect Emil's… and Ratatosk's conscience. Maybe together we can find a way for everyone to live in peace."

"So… we should find a way to merge the two personalities of Emil and Ratatosk into one single entity. If Emil's personality is able to survive, then Ratatosk will no longer be our enemy," Raine hypothesized. If Zelos hadn't known better, she looked fit to jump into Ruin Mode any second.

"And what if my personality… doesn't survive? What will happen to my memories if the merge isn't successful for my human side?" Emil asked.

"We'd have to seal Ratatosk within the Ginnungagap if you don't prevail," Lloyd said.

"Unless the personalities have mixed instead of battled," Yuan stated hesitantly. Lloyd stared at him, offended that such an option was being given.

"Wait a minute. So you're saying there's no way to find out? Well, that's just the same as telling Emil he could die!" Marta gasped. Colette, nearby, reached out to hold the girl's hand.

Lloyd kept his head held high in way Zelos wasn't used to seeing. "You're right. That's why we asked Martel if there was a good way to do this."

"What Martel suggested was that you seek the help of the Summon Spirit of Heart," Yuan said softly.

Sheena's eyes widened and she took a step to balance herself. Zelos likewise was taken aback; unlike the other seemingly random Summon Spirits thrown at him in the past few days, he, too, realized that there was only one Summon Spirit unaccounted for in its afterlife.

Corrine.

He wanted to reach out to her and joke, "Does that name ring a bell?" But it would have been disrespectful despite its joyous indication of Corrine's fulfillment.

Lloyd powered on with the last of his speech. "Emil, I hope you understand that there's no guarantee this will keep you safe, but it's all we have right now. Of course, it's ultimately your choice. I'll leave the decision up to you."

Emil looked around, but centered his attention on Marta, who was now grasping Colette's hand with a visibly vice-like grip. "I'll go. I want to see the Summon Spirit of Heart."

Yuan then offered the use of his Rheiards so that the trip wouldn't take too long, just in case Ratatosk were to break through at any time.

While the others packed the Rheiards and chatted away, glad to be finally reunited with Lloyd, Zelos swung back over to Yuan's corner of solitude.

"Hey," he began simply. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Colette's head pop up.

"You have further questions? I thought we were clear. Everything's pretty much in Emil's field right now."

"Just one little thing before I go and leave you alone for the rest of your eternity. When were you ever going to let me in on the fact that I'm about to live an eternity with this thing on my chest?" Zelos growled. Yuan did not try to match him, but rather took a seat right next to the foundling Tree.

"Oh, you put two and two together?"

Zelos leaned down to the man's eye level. "I have half a mind to lose this thing over Gaoracchia Forest when we're flying on the Rheiards. Do you have any idea how much trouble it gets me into? How many times Richter has tried to kill me for it?"

"You have nothing to worry about. The man's proven himself to be a coward," Yuan scoffed.

"Yeah, he's like you that way. Does he want it for the immortality?"

"That's very much the reason you should hold onto it for as long as you can. Who knows what could happen if someone else chanced upon it and decided they wanted to resurrect a dynasty?" Yuan's eyes were far away, likely in some thousand-year-old memories.

"What happens when I keep it?" Zelos pressed. "I don't want to live long enough to see myself become the enemy. And I really don't want to explore the route my father took."

Yuan brushed his forehead with his hand. "It was the easy way out."

"Was it his only way out?"

They locked eyes.

"He had options."

"Will it kill me if I never wear it again?" Zelos asked. Yuan didn't respond. " _Will it kill me if I never wear it again_?"

"It isn't up to me what you'll do with the Cruxis Crystal, in the end. It isn't much up to you, either. You'll know when the time is right what you have to do."

Foreboding crawled through Zelos's veins. What in the  _world_  did that mean? But before he could open his mouth to ask or exclaim or wonder about anything, the fog impinged upon him.


	12. I Need Time

Even traveling by Rheaird, the cluster of travelers only made it to Iselia at nightfall. Colette graciously offered to house everyone for the night, as her family home was both stocked and close enough in proximity to the temple. Granny Phaidra, what a gem. She prepared them a substantial meal, meanwhile Frank set up enough makeshift beds for everyone to sleep for a few good hours.

Sheena was restless. While a few others helped with the reorganization ("I'm going on a journey for Room Reorganization!" "That is the  _dumbest_  thing I've ever heard, Lloyd."), she excused herself for a breath of fresh air.

Really, it was awkward to be a guest in Colette's house after all of the pettiness that passed between them lately. She hated being made humble before she had time to think it out. Couldn't feel sincere if she had to put on a face, and couldn't live with herself if she couldn't be sincere. And anyway, it wasn't Colette's fault. The whole mess with Lloyd was a circuitous mess.

It was calmer outside, anyway. Iselia chirped and hummed with all the life a warm evening could offer. Sheena walked along the dirt path, away from the lights in the boisterous Brunel residence. She realized the moon was nearly full.

How many times had she looked up at that moon since she had last seen Corrine? She didn't know. She could pull out a calendar, but the grief spanned longer than the years would claim. Yes, Corrine still existed somewhere in the great floating mass of mana, but he had changed. No longer could he be a carefree Summon Spirit pet, ever nestling in the crook of her elbow or around her ankles for warmth; no longer a counselor when she needed it most. Up until this point, she thought she had needed him most for sorting out the incident with Volt. Support; he was her pillar, and he believed in her.

Lately, Mizuho was beginning to distrust her all over again. Orochi began taking orders from Lloyd. What had  _Lloyd_  done that she died and he became Chief? It was impossibly against tradition to have anyone other than the Chief lead the sacred ninja warriors. Granted, the T-MIN was geared more toward feeding information to the entire country of Tethe'alla in defense against the Vanguard—but it still had "Mizuho" in the title. That had to count for some measure of nationalism.

Was it because she wasn't Mizuho-born? People outside of the village had mostly forgotten that Sheena was abandoned in the Forest of Death and that Mizuho was not her natural home. But who was to say that there wasn't a secret birth and that the parents had fled from Mizuho? Tiga and Grandpa Igaguri both waived her lack of birthright when she became the Chief. There had to be something there. Those men were respected by everyone else in the village regardless of their ties to her.

But Lloyd—hell, up until a short time prior, he had been a homicidal maniac in the eyes of Sylvaranti and Tethe'allans alike. How could such trust be put into his orders?

Sheena paused, realizing she had veered into a ditch in someone's yard. Well, at least it wasn't a pitfall.

But it was, sort of. She'd dug herself into a hole by the way she had been so determined to find Lloyd and figure out what he was up to. That was her personal mission. Nobody in Tethe'alla wanted her to do it as much as she, herself, had. Why? How could she be so dense? It became an obsession. Lloyd  _had_  to be the same guy she'd seen off-guard, drinking in a little shack of a cabin in the middle of nowhere just months before. So if she had believed it, she was sure others believed it on her behalf. And that had to be the only reason why Orochi felt he could take orders from Lloyd first. Meanwhile, all Sheena had done was get herself into a right mess in Flanoir, ally with Clara before consulting with anyone in the T-MIN, and, let's not forget, go completely off the grid on a whim and a promise from one of the most popular-yet-reviled men in the united world.

Some responsible leader.

She picked at the dry skin on her lips. It would be unfair of Mizuho to unseat her, she knew. But was that what they were doing? Or did it just seem that way? Maybe she'd better self-exile before they came up with other reasons she was failing. There  _had_  to be worse things than hanging out with the Chosen of Tethe'alla; for the love of god, though, she couldn't focus on what they would be. She hadn't made those choices yet.

She walked until she hit the edge of town before doubling back, and passing the house that Raine and Genis used to live in. No longer. They'd sold it, moved to god-knows-where. Lloyd probably sold that little cabin out in the fields, too. What a shame. It wasn't as though she wanted to celebrate with the others the way she had before. In fact, celebrating Lloyd's descent from shady criminal mastermind was why she didn't want to be around Lloyd or the others at the moment. No, she longed to see the little shack just to remind herself that she'd dodged that arrow.

She could have stayed with Lloyd, then. It would have been so easy. And though she was glad she'd passed on that one, she figured she could never exactly stop finding parts of Lloyd attractive. Stuffing them away to memory was going to be a difficult thing, but not so difficult when she kept reminding herself that she made the right choice, in the end.

It was time to walk back to that choice. What was he up to? Stuffing his face to comical proportions to amuse the teenagers? Well, that was a rude assumption. He might have done that for attention on the Regeneration tour. Now he didn't need attention, and he knew what it was like to have attention that tried to assassinate you. He wasn't nearly as randomly flamboyant when topics took a shade for the darker. He didn't shy away or run. That's how she knew he was ready. Maybe she knew  _she_  was ready because of the fact that she was being errant in her duties. All of a sudden, it was her turn to decide what was worth her time.

And when she thought about how nice it would be to sidle up next to that stupidly charming Chosen again and give into the smell of his hair and the laugh in his voice, she reminded herself of just how ridiculous that sounded. Me and the Idiot Chosen! She hoped Corrine would appreciate that sentiment when she saw him in the morning. Zelos had, after all, been the one to scoop up Corrine's collar when everyone else had been too busy fleeing the scene of the accident.

Through the window, Sheena could see Colette and Raine helping Granny Phaidra with the dishes with the occasional flying limb of likely Genis, likely roughhousing Lloyd. So, she opened the door cautiously.

"Thank  _goodness_  you're here!" Marta exclaimed first. The scene revealed itself: all the blankets and pillows now divided unevenly into impromptu forts; Frank, unphased, sipping coffee at the table; Regal, bound at the wrists with a kendama string and fake-struggling to kick a pile of pillows off himself; general chaos.

"Sheena! You have to help or you'll be taken hostage!" Marta urged, grabbing her arm. But before Sheena could even ask how they'd come to the conclusion of a hostage situation from a puddle of sleeping bags, she was grabbed from behind and lifted high into the air by her waist.

"AVAST!"

"Gahhh! Put me down!"

"Quick, tie her up, too! She's an intruder!" Genis was barking orders like a regular Grand Cardinal. It looked like he was on the opposite team from Marta, Emil, and Lloyd, who were pillow-fighting their way over to Regal.

"PUT ME DOWN!" Sheena cried, kicking her legs and almost knocking out Marta. She didn't have to look behind her to know that the strength of those arms belonged to no other than the one and only Idiot Chosen. "ZELOS!"

He tilted his head up to her ear and said loudly enough to hear over Genis's screaming, "Don't worry, I gotcha." She squealed and kicked some more, which unbalanced him, so he took the fall to his side and covered the pair of them in a blanket.

Sheena had to laugh. Leave it to the ambassadors of the Regeneration to spend the night before an important decision faking a battle with pillows. When the hilarity subsided, she opened her eyes to see Zelos sparkling with mischief.

"Heee, I'm going to betray Genis and let you go free," he said. "OOF!" On the outside, someone had beaten him with a particularly whip-like pillow. He held the blankets around them tighter, as though it offered actual protection from the beating.

"That's your strategy? How did you people come up with this wacky game?" Sheena inquired. "Also, why is Raine letting this happen?!"

"Oh, she tried to stop it, but Genis and Lloyd kicked her out. Called it training."

"OUCH! Ow-ow-ow… You idiot, that hurt!" Sheena yelled with her mouth to the blanket. She turned her head back to Zelos. He grinned at her. "Well? Aren't you going to do anything?"

"I dunno, it's kind of nice in here. This is the closest we've been for a while…"

"COME ON OUT, YOU COWARDS!" Emil shouted, the power of his non-Ratatosk voice surprising everyone. The blanket was being violently pulled, but Zelos resisted. He pulled Sheena in tighter.

"Okay, plan B. We'll jump up and ambush them. I'll take on Emil. You rescue Regal. And the safe area," Zelos whispered, "is the kitchen."

Sheena wound up agreeing as though her life depended on it. But Zelos didn't immediately lift the blanket. "What are you waiting for?"

He looked into her eyes with a hopeless awe, then plucked a kiss from her open lips. "More of that, really."

Sheena rolled her eyes, but brushed her nose against his. And suddenly, he unwrapped the blanket and leapt to his feet. Sheena knelt and shielded her head. "Uh—curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" she called, smiling. A quick roll to the side led her closer to the pillow pile and Regal. She worked to quickly untie Regal while Presea, who was supposedly on Genis's side but seemed more preoccupied with petting Tenebrae, looked on.

Zelos grabbed and upended Genis to use as a human shield against Emil, and before long, Marta had jumped on Zelos's back, tumbling the lot of them to the ground, laughing. Lloyd offered Zelos a hand to help him up, but Zelos gave a well-timed pull and Lloyd crashed into him.

"You're free!" Sheena told Regal, pushing him into the kitchen. Giddy adrenaline propelled her forward, but someone tugged on the edge of her bow, and she ended up falling over with the rest of them.

When the laughter and poking subsided, Raine walked over to the group.

"Okay, you've had your fun. Is anybody injured? Tell me now so I can heal you before tomorrow," she cautioned. Genis had a bruise, but Raine refused to heal it so he'd learn his lesson. Emil's small scrape she fixed, and made sure Marta's wrist was okay. The damage taken care of, she helped put the room back in order.

"We should probably go to bed soon," Lloyd noted. But nobody protested; they were worn out. He made sure to thank Frank and Phaidra again before heading upstairs, but both of Colette's family members were off to bed before too long.

Colette followed after locking the doors and putting the last of the dishes away. "Will everybody be okay?" she asked. "If you need anything at all, the house is at your disposal. It's the least I can do."

Marta caught her in a brief, surprising embrace. "Colette, you have a kind heart. Thank you so much."

Colette beamed. "It's my pleasure, Marta. Sleep well, everyone!"

With Colette in her own room and Lloyd presumably "in" the spare room, the first floor was the only choice for everyone else. Aside from the kitchen-slash-dining room, there was only an attached family room. On the previous journey, it was easy to fit all the women in the dining room and all the men in the family room. But even with only two new human companions, it was going to be cramped.

"You know the rules," Raine said as spaces were divided. "Marta, you'll be sleeping with us," she indicated the females, "in the dining room."

Marta turned bright red. "Wh-what was the other option? I'm too young for that sort of thing…!"

"Don't sweat it," Zelos clucked. "I wouldn't judge you if you snuck away for some alone time with Emil…"

But instead of saying some girlish, romantic thing, Marta frowned. She stormed past him and locked herself in the bathroom. Zelos looked to Emil.

"What did I say?"

"Can… I go talk to her?" Emil asked Raine.

The Professor nodded then shot a chastising look at Zelos. "That's enough for tonight. Let's all just go to bed."

Zelos wandered over to Sheena and flicked a piece of hair out of her face. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, not really knowing what he referred to. Didn't she just join in the childish revelry? But her arms  _were_  crossed.

"The walk you went on," Zelos clarified.

"Oh. I was just thinking about Corrine." Her body swayed as she took another step closer to him. "Thanks. For… the bells."

"And?" he goaded. "Don't tell me you weren't grateful that we won the pillow war."

"…  _That_  was winning?"

"Well we didn't  _lose_ ," Zelos justified. "And my Violent Demonic Banshee," he flourished, "finally let her guard down."

Sheena stuck out her tongue. "I'd fight you, but we'll probably need you in case Ratatosk becomes violent."

"I'm glad. I'm pretty exhausted at the moment." He caught her in his arms and quickly released her, as though in passing.

Sheena glanced around the room and saw that only Regal present at the moment. Quietly, she said, "I was hoping we'd have a little space to ourselves. Not fair that Lloyd and Colette, too."

"Yeah, I know. But it's probably a good idea to keep us separate. You know how… what do they call me… 'lecherous' I can get." He threw a wink at her.

"Gross," she snorted. "Guess we're going to bed like old people."

"See you in the morning, sweetness." Zelos embraced Sheena and let her go about her evening routine. Like ships passing in the night. Once again, they were relegated to separate places. Sooner or later, it would probably benefit them to let at least the adults know the nature of their relationship. Again. If there was one.

Eck. Zelos wasn't going to think about the other option. In order to protect himself from being twice bitten, he'd have to broach the topic eventually. Just not tonight. Not when so many people had so many other things going on.

He fell asleep with a protective hand in his pocket, covering the remembered rings.

* * *

In the morning, breakfast was light and quick so as not to encumber the journey ahead. But Marta, sunken-eyed, hadn't eaten at all and she was fidgeting with her spinners, generally ignoring her surroundings. Zelos knew that look. Coincidentally, it was the exact opposite of how he looked when he felt withdrawn. Outgoing and bitterly sarcastic, yes. Fidgety and sad, never. But then, he didn't understand a lot of things about Marta, and he figured that with a father like hers, she didn't have much of a role model for healthy thoughts.

So, being the Generous Big Brother he was, Zelos ditched Sheena (who wanted to be alone with her thoughts at the front of the group, anyway) and caught up with Marta on her way to the temple. Upon finding the Chosen behind her, Marta scowled ever-so slightly.

"Hey now, Marta, my sweet. You look as though you put your foot in your mouth and didn't much care for the taste."

"Leave me alone, Zelos," she spat. Geez, he hadn't even said anything inappropriate that day. Well, yet.

"No, I was mistaken. You look like you took a question you haven't even answered for yourself," he began, thinking of the meeting with Yuan, "and piled it on Emil's shoulders. But you knew you were doing it as you did it, and you regret it. Am I wrong?"

"What do you mean?! What question?!" Marta flailed, exasperated, like anyone much less the thoughtless Chosen of Tethe'alla would talk straight about the fears that kept her awake.

"I mean the one that goes, 'Let's see now. Which Emil do I like the best?'" He could tell from the sharp shift in her features that he'd hit a nerve. Perfect.

"You're wrong!" the girl shouted. "I—Both Emils are important to me! After all, they're both—"

"They're both Emil. You're not mistaken there. That's why it's hurting you so much," Zelos finished. "Nothing's ever black-and-white. Life's a big gray area. But if you take all of the black out of the grey, the white seems a lot less interesting. Doesn't mean you should have reinforced the ultimatum, though."

"But then what should I have done? I knew what I was saying was unfair, but I couldn't stand to have the other Emil just disappear…" Marta turned her head.

Zelos reached out for her arm. "If that's really what you think, you should stand by it," he said firmly.

Through building tears, Marta mustered a, "What?"

"If that's what you're truly feeling, then be straight with it. Don't say things to Emil that you'll only regret as soon as they leave your lips. He's got more to deal with than any of us." Marta nodded tensely. "If you honestly don't want to lose any part of him, then you did the right thing in saying so," Zelos reinforced.

"Zelos… I didn't know you were paying attention…"

"Of course I was. And let me tell you: both personalities are Emil. It's only natural for you to fall in love with both. They're the same person. Sometimes you'd be surprised at how incredibly multifaceted we can all be. I've got more than a few sad secrets, myself."

"Ha. Is one of them that you secretly listen to what people say and try to help them out?" Marta asked. She brushed her forehead quickly, as though she were parting her hair rather than wiping anything that resembled a tear.

"Shhh, don't say it too loud! If they hear I have a sensitive side, they'll never let me live it down," he quipped. "Actually, they'll probably tell you the real stories. I'm not very proud of those, but we do what we must. Even if it haunts us."

"And they still accept you. So… it'll be okay?"

"All that's left is to believe in him, and wait," Zelos said. He patted her back.

"Right. Thank you," Marta said.

The doors to the Temple of Iselia were shut and covered in ivy. Colette approached them cautiously at the head of the group. Without sign, she, Lloyd, Genis, and Raine turned to one another.

"This place holds a lot of memory," Colette said.

"Why's that?" Emil spoke up.

"It's where we began our journey two years ago," Raine answered.

"So much has happened since then," Colette noted.

"Let's not waste time out here. We need to get to Verius," Lloyd urged.

Genis immediately cracked up.

"What? What's funny?"

"Some things  _never_  change," the half-elven boy chuckled. "For example, Lloyd gets restless if we stand around while we've got something important to do."

"—I do not!" Lloyd flushed for the first time in some years, that they'd seen.

"… This is strange for me, too," Marta said. "I mean, for years all I wanted to do was kill the Chosen. But I didn't realize that Colette is a person. She has a past and a present. I mean, she didn't just appear out of nowhere to kill Mom."

"That's very mature," Regal said, which made Marta smile.

"All the same, we  _do_  need to get inside," Raine stated. Emil agreed, and everyone followed after Lloyd heaved open the doors.

There were some guardian monsters still within the confines of the temple. Supposing that this was intended to be a trial for thousands of years, it wasn't outrageous to assume that they would be fit opponents. But they seemed impossibly difficult. To think that a twelve-year-old Genis had once battled these monsters and won didn't seem right.

Then, a lot of things had changed in the world. All of those articles about monster repopulation in the  _New World Times_  began to feel boring to Zelos after a few months of not facing a beast's wrath. The demonic warriors suddenly sprang to life in every corner of the dank, unfamiliar temple and he found it ever harder to force his body into familiar fighting patterns. Maybe it was his back aching with every sword thrust.

The group surged on, completing a few familiar puzzles before advancing to a room with the altar. And Sheena was shaking in her boots. Another thing Zelos would never understand: why would you let yourself show your fear instead of using fear to fuel your concentration? But then, he'd never dealt with an angry god of lightning.

"Sheena, you seem nervous," Emil pointed out as the summoner stepped forward.

"It's no big. I just haven't seen him in a long, long time."

"Who? Do you know this Summon Spirit?"

"Know 'im? She practically raised him," Zelos butted in. And she couldn't protest.

"We were good friends," Sheena corrected.

"You're friends with the Summon Spirit of Heart? Well—I guess I'm a Summon Spirit, too!" Emil looked toward Marta.

"That's right… He should be here any minute."

A few minutes passed while Sheena did nothing but stand in front of the altar. Before long, Lloyd chanced to ask, "Hey, are you going to summon him or not?"

Sheena turned around. "I—I am! It's different this time, though. When I tried to form a pact with Verius before, he didn't show up. But I sat and thought a lot about Corrine and me, and some other things that made me feel happy, like my friends. That's when he showed up, just briefly enough to show me his face, is all. I think the theory right now is that he'll appear whenever you feel a lot in your heart," she explained.

"Why don't you just think about what you thought about last time?" Emil suggested.

She shrugged. "It doesn't work the same every time. Like I said, I'm not sure, but he comes when he's needed. Maybe we should all take a moment and… think about the things we really care about. For starters, Emil's safety. Come on, guys."

Taking initiative, Sheena bowed her head and closed her eyes. Lloyd was soon to follow, and Marta, and the rest. Zelos  _did_  want the "good" version of Emil to prevail, but he couldn't figure out a reason why that would bring joy to his heart.

It was much easier to think of Seles and how much he wished he could see her happy, maybe with a pet or a best friend, or one day a man who would accept her for who she is. Wouldn't it be swell if Seles would improve enough to get a cottage of her own; maybe in a town like Iselia, and she'd settle down and do normal things like join book clubs. He'd visit, and Seles wouldn't sling insults at Sheena because they were _family_  now, all of them, living in a dream. Maybe a couple of brats. A little girl. The prettiest spoiled princess in all of the united world—aside from Sheena, of course.

He smiled. He was glowing.

No, actually. He was glowing. His wings shimmered a pale orange light, which made him clutch his Cruxis Crystal just in case it was malfunctioning. But upon looking over at Colette and seeing her pinkish purple wings activated, he worried a little less. What a strange buzzing feeling came over him. The room was alive with mana.

And there he was: Verius, in all of his groomed, grown-up look. Zelos had imagined that he'd transform into something less corporeal after his mortal death, but Corrine looked like Corrine—just a little more greyhoundish, and with a new belled collar. His voice was deeper, but still childish and innocent. He could almost feel Sheena overflowing with relief.

"You called, Sheena?"

"Corrine!" she cried. The two shared a quiet gaze.

Emil suddenly said, "So you're the Summon Spirit of Heart." He walked closer to observe Verius from another angle; as though it would bring him an answer about his own future, Zelos guessed.

Verius shuddered. "Ratatosk…" But he leaned in for a closer observation. "No, Emil. I see your heart is a very sad color right now. You are conflicted."

 _Yeah, join the orangepurplepink party over here, they're_ super _happy colors_ , Zelos thought. At least Mithos had a sense of color theory. Emil's heart was probably closer to that metaphor of gray. Alas, Zelos's wings had already disappeared without his conscious effort to make them do so.

"I…" Emil stuttered.

"A pact with me is something made in the heart. Once your heart has made its decision, Emil, I will give you my help. So please give careful thought to how it is you wish to live," Corrine boomed.

"What do you mean, Verius?" Lloyd questioned.

"I will protect Emil's heart in the manner it desires. However, he is still undecided as to what he wishes to do. He needs time."

Genis looked at Lloyd self-righteously. Of  _course_  Emil needed more time and couldn't be pushed into the matter, LLOYD. Zelos glared at the swordsman, then sighed.

Sweetly, Colette added, "That's true. It's hard to make a decision like that about yourself so suddenly."

"I shall appear and lend you my power when you wish me to. Let us meet again when you have come to a decision." Just as Verius had appeared, he disappeared in a cloud of intangible mana.

Emil turned sheepishly to face the group. "I'm sorry to have dragged you all out here."

"Don't worry about that. We'll wait for your decision," Lloyd comforted.

Before Emil could thank much of anyone, the ground began to rumble: another natural disaster.

"Ahh!" Marta gasped, vying for balance against gravity. They were all tossed around by the shaking of the earth.

"It's an earthquake!" Genis exclaimed, as though no one had noticed.

Zelos had stumbled over to Sheena, who was wide-eyed and panicked. That would be a natural concern in the realm of a Summon Spirit. More often than not, there was a battle waiting for them at the other end of the pact. And what if Verius was just a crude imitation of Corrine fabricated from Sheena's memory, and instead was an insidious beast of Niflheim.

—Niflheim!

Just then, the earthquake stopped. Presea was the first to wheel her head around to survey the scene. Nothing was damaged, but she continued searching. "Something feels very uneasy now. It's as if something dark and ominous is about to approach…" History proved that when Presea sensed an evil presence, she was 99 percent accurate.

Emil knelt on the ground while Marta tended to him. Tenebrae suddenly appeared beside Presea.

"This awareness you feel… The door to the Ginnungagap is about to open!"

"No!" Colette protested. "The door has to stay closed as long as Ratatosk is alive, right?"

"The Vanguard… that's what Richter was using them for: a distraction while he put the pieces together!" Tenebrae shouted.

Emil burst upward with glaring orange and yellow electricity. "STOP IT! STAY AWAY FROM THAT DOOR!"

It was clear that he had transitioned into a still-existent version of Ratatosk within himself now. Sheena's hand was a pincer on Zelos's arm, her face pale as a sheet. The lightning. As Emil continued to glow and spark, Zelos felt Sheena sliding to her knees.

Tenebrae was saying something to Colette, desperate to convey information. It was garbled next to Sheena's soft cry, "I can't… I can't…" She shook her head violently.

Zelos bent to try and help her regain her feet. "Sheena, you have to try. It isn't real," he said. He shifted his gaze to the Summon Spirit Ratatosk; then to Regal, who rushed over at the sight of Sheena collapsed. What a sight, for two Tethe'allan noblemen to be hoisting up a Mizuho warrior in the midst of a battle between a Summon Spirit and his human form.

Ratatosk did lash out by pulling Emil's sword on Lloyd, but Lloyd was too quick for that. He'd jumped backward and pulled something out of his pocket. It must have been a core. It rolled over to Ratatosk's feet, where it was awakened and brought Emil back. Boy, Yuan wasn't kidding about that power hungriness.

Zelos and Regal had gotten Sheena to stand, and somehow she took it to mean she looked weak, so she pushed the pair of them away and stalked away a distance.

Emil looked vacant, still not quite to his senses. Marta held on to him and begged that he would awaken sane and safe. And when his eyes opened, the group sighed in relief to see the soft green hue of Emil's, not Ratatosk's, soul.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. Leave it to Emil to apologize before doing or saying anything else. Marta embraced him yet again. "I guess I really am Ratatosk. I betrayed you."

Lloyd stepped over to him. "No. You didn't betray us. You saw who Ratatosk was, and you came back," he explained.

Raine had made her way over to the exit of the Summon Spirit chamber and called for everyone to follow. "This place is highly unsafe in the event that the new seal should break. Let's go into town if we're going to have a long conversation," she advised.

Nobody could disagree, but it was a long haul back to the temple's entrance. And upon arrival, dozens of monsters oozed out of the trees below and began to attack. Luckily, a few of the town's strongest men—and Lloyd's adoptive father, the dwarf Dirk—were there to receive the bulk of them.

Dirk explained how the earthquake seemed to spur the arrival of the monsters. But rather than having been unprepared, the residents of Iselia were called to arms to defend themselves. They'd done a decent job, too, for what monsters they didn't defeat they deflected toward the temple.

"We knew you'd take care of 'em just fine," Dirk reassured. "I'm proud of this town."

"I wonder if other towns are dealing with the same problem," Genis speculated. He looked nervously to Lloyd.

Dirk tried to convince the boys that if Iselia's meager soldiers could protect this shell of a city, then every other larger city would certainly be fine. Of course, Lloyd was fearful of the outcome if he was blamed for the monsters' appearance in the first place. Meanwhile, Emil was awakening from another sudden slump.

"Are you all right, Emil?" Marta asked, running over to the boy after tucking away her spinner.

"I'm okay now," Emil mumbled. "I know what I have to do. If I don't make sure these monsters are sealed away behind the door, nobody else will."

Sheena all but jumped. "Did you feel that?" she asked Presea, who was nearby. "All of a sudden, I felt…"

"Corrine?" Presea asked. "I, too, felt a brief moment of inexplicable rush."

"Does that mean you've made up your mind and called upon Verius?" Lloyd asked Emil.

The boy nodded solemnly. "Yes. I've sealed away Ratatosk's personality. But… that means I'm choosing to be the guardian of the door. Now all that's left to do is collect the rest of the Centurions' cores and close off the Ginnungagap. I'm going to need your help."

Regal was the first to step forward. "If it is truly your choice to take on the Summon Spirit Ratatosk's duties, then I would be more than happy to help in whatever way I can," he said gently.

"—Me too!" Colette added cheerfully. "I want to help you protect the door. It would be my honor."

Okay, things were getting weird. Her honor? To be the hand on the cork-stopper? Zelos didn't see much of a point in that. If Emil was going to make this choice, he'd have to man up and deal with it. And if Colette decided to mother him until the end, she'd have to deal with the fact that her good intentions would be in vain. There was nothing a guardian could do in this world except guard their keep. It was Yuan's fate to watch over the World Tree until the end of his days, or until Martel's new Summon Spirit form was strong enough to do her job herself. Judging by the shelf life of a Cruxis Crystal, Yuan might be there forever.

Forever…?

Colette nodded to Zelos, then looked down to her chest. Surely she wasn't trying to tap into his mana signature, was she? But she seemed so resolute about her word choice. " _To help protect the door_ …"

It hit him. If it was Ratatosk's fate to guard the door for eternity, a more mortal version of Ratatosk would need some bolstering, right? Why not give the Chosens' Cruxis Crystals to Emil?!

"Corrine's choice is my choice," Sheena said. "There's no chance I wouldn't support you."

Emil looked warily to the Centurion of Darkness. "Tenebrae, do you have any objections?"

For the first time, perhaps in the history of everything, Tenebrae was at a loss for words. Perhaps he felt jealous that he hadn't thought of the idea himself. "I, uh… no. None at all."

"Then we should go to the Otherworldly Gate," Emil decided.

Raine was quick to jump in. "No! We should make preparations for the trip first," she warned.

Finally; something Zelos could relate to. Instead of jumping right in, it would be wise to glean any last bits of information or aid. Besides, he had to make sure Seles was okay with the decision to ditch the Crystal, and that Colette was on board. "I agree," he chimed. "And Emil, if you're sure you wanna guard the Ginnungagap as Ratatosk for the rest of your life, then I think it's important for you to say goodbye to all the people who've helped you. It's the least you can do, little man."

"You're right. I want to do that," Emil said.

Before Emil could ask for all nine companions to join him on his quest of thankfulness, Zelos decided to put a stop to the possibility of being dragged around. "I'm sure we all have matters we'd like to tie up before we go. I think we should split up for now and reconvene somewhere safe."

Lloyd raised his eyebrows. "Wow, Zelos. I'm surprised you want to take initiative. Although it does make me a bit nervous when you start acting like a leader…"  _Oh, nice. Let's bring that back up._

Colette grabbed Lloyd's hand. "Trust me on this, Lloyd. Zelos has the right idea. We need to make sure what we're doing is safe and that we have all the help we can possibly get," she said sweetly.

"Yes," Regal affirmed. "Let's see if we can meet back tonight at Altamira. I'm fairly certain it is one of the most well guarded locations in the country right now."

"Thanks to Lezareno's security measures," Marta said.

"Indeed. That way, we can set out tomorrow," Raine added.

"If anyone wants to stay for lunch, I'm sure Granny and Dad wouldn't object," Colette offered.

Emil thought for a moment. "Actually, I think I'll just say my goodbyes. I've got some explaining to do in Luin!" he decided.

"Okay then. It's settled. Let's get our stuff and get a move on," Lloyd said.

Zelos shuffled over to Sheena. "Are you going to go to Mizuho?"

"I was planning on it, yeah," she replied. "Being with Corrine… I did a little bit of thinking. I need to go talk to Grandpa about what happened with Orochi and everything. This could take a while. I've just got a bad taste in my mouth."

Zelos grinned roguishly and leaned in closer to whisper, "That's not what you said last night."

Sheena fumed and yelped. "Zelos! That is  _not_  true." She looked around to see that Genis and Raine were staring at her and added a quick elbow to Zelos's side. "Stop being a moron!"

"Ouch! Geez, I was kidding. Couldn't pass up that joke!"

"Get a room," Genis said languidly before ignoring them in favor of talking to Lloyd. Raine rolled her eyes and moved on.

"Are you gonna stay overnight with your old man?"

"Well," Sheena said more quietly. "It'd be rude if I left right away."

"Y'know, I'm starting to worry that you don't wanna spend what little time we may have left with me," Zelos said sarcastically.

"It's not that! Don't be so selfish."

"I'm not—" Zelos protested. Well. It sort of seemed like he was being selfish, but it wasn't intentional. Yet. "I mean, I have a ton of junk to do before we go. I've gotta talk to the King and my sister, maybe fend off a couple of rioters." He took a deep breath and continued soft enough that nobody outside of the two of them would hear. "I just wanna make sure we're okay, you and me."

"Oh, we're okay! Unless you're going to continue freaking out like a girl," Sheena taunted. She hooked her arm around his as they walked.

"Don't be that guy," Zelos reproached. After all, hadn't Sheena just freaked out after seeing something that resembled lightning? But he felt justified in his concern: after the passion of taboo wore off last time they were quote-unquote  _together_ , that's when Sheena left. "I'm really gonna need your help to do what I've gotta do in the next coupla' days. I've gotta know if you wanna do this for real, regardless of what happens afterward."

Sheena sighed. "Look. I've got some big decisions to make, too. I need some time to make sure they're for the right reasons. Just, don't worry about you and me, okay? I know I've been secretive about things in the past, but you have to believe me," she urged.

"I see. What you're saying is, you're gonna stay there no matter what I say," Zelos said.

Sheena frowned and averted her eyes. "Well, I don't want to, but I might have to."

"Cool. I'll let you sort things out over there."

"… So you're not going to pull the, 'But hunnyyyyyyy, it's so lonely, you have to come with me!' card?"

"Nope!" Zelos smiled at her. "I know you'd rather spend your night in your not-so-hidden village instead of with meeee…"

Sheena huffed. "Fine, I'll make an effort to escape in the dead of night. Come on, I'm a ninja."

"Don't even worry about it if you can't."

"Well, gee, I could get used to this…"

"I'LL MISS YOU, MY NUMBER ONE HUNNY!"

The side of his face would ache far beyond the walk back to the Rheairds. Worth a shot.

* * *

The air over Meltokio was choppy, which made landing a Rheaird in the garden more akin to crashing the goddamn Rheaird in the stupid garden. Sebastian, although perturbed by the Chosen's rough entrance, was ever accommodating to Zelos's surprise visit.

"Welcome home, Master Zelos. What brings you back without word?" Sebastian greeted.

Zelos swung one leg over the Rheaird and hopped to the ground. "Well, as you can see here," he indicated the injured mechanical bird, "I met back up with the owner of these guys. Just so happens he needs me to follow li'l Emil around while we fix the, uh, reason for that earthquake earlier."

"We didn't experience an earthquake here, sir," the butler said.

Zelos cocked his head to the side. "Really? We had a pretty wicked one in Iselia."

"Ah, you've been to Iselia…" Sebastian opened the door to the back of the mansion.

"What does  _that_  mean? Ah, Sebs. You know too much. Maybe you should write my biography," Zelos said drily.

"It would be far too easy with the tabloids I have saved from the past two years."

Both of them entered into the lavish receiving room, where Zelos did not hesitate to kick off his shoes and drop his sword. He inhaled deeply the smell of home.

"So, I didn't see any mobs outside. How long do you think it'll take them to realize I'm here?" he asked.

"Oh, it could be hours, it could be minutes," Sebastian chuckled. "Lady Seles would probably like to see you before they break down the door."

Zelos nodded. "Yeah, probably. Can I get any relevant newspapers and a good glass of red when I come back down?"

"Of course, sir. Oh, and don't mind Tokunaga. He'll stay out of your way."

"Sebby, you're the best." Zelos patted his attendant's shoulder and all but sprinted up the stairs, barely missed running over Tokunaga, and bounded into Seles's room.

"Lady Seles, you have a visitor!" the put-upon man called after him.

"Zelos!" Seles exclaimed. She was sitting at her desk rather than bedridden for the first time in a long time. And she rose to greet him, fully dressed in her nicest outfitting.

"Hey, kid. Sorry, it's been so long. What's with the dress?"

Seles smiled genuinely. "What does it matter? Look!" She hopped up and down. "I can walk and even jump! I'm feeling better."

"What have they been feeding you?" Zelos snorted.

"I was gonna ask what  _you_  did to your Cruxis Crystal. One day, I started feeling better, so I invited a friend over. And then I felt  _even better_!"

Zelos turned deadly serious. " _You_? Have  _friends_?"

"Oh, please, you have no idea what my personal life is like," Seles snapped, turning her head to the side.

"Pretty sure it didn't involve moving around a lot before whatever it was happened to you and your sickness," he replied.

"So, what did you do?" Seles begged. "Is that a fake crystal you've got or what?"

"Actually, I didn't do anything." He sat down at the edge of her bed. "But I think I might have to, soon."

Seles drooped. "Oh. So your journey isn't over. I thought since I was feeling better… maybe you settled things for good."

Zelos shook his head. "No such luck. I still have a little ways to go yet, but I'm not sure how things are gonna turn out." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tokunaga peek his nosy head through the door. Maybe the first change he'd make when he got back would be to fire that guy. Although, he supposed it was Seles's choice to keep him there, and he couldn't begrudge her.

"Don't you start talking like that," Seles ordered. "I know that tone."

"Relax. It's actually Emil who's in a lot of trouble. Lots of grown-up Summon Spirity things. Random question though," he interrupted himself, "do you know what happens when you die without your Cruxis Crystal on?"

Seles groped behind her for her chair and sat down to face her brother. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Don't freak out, but I think I have to do something drastic to destroy the Cruxis Crystal. I can't keep it in the key crest forever like Kratos and Yuan, and I won't let my body consume it and turn me into some uncontrollable creature. So… I can't tell you where I'm going or when I'll be back, but I need to know that you'll be okay without it."

"How can I answer that? All I know is that I'm feeling better right now," she said. Her cheeks were so pink, her bright eyes so blue. The last time he'd seen her so full of life was a few years ago in the Coliseum, where it seemed she drew her strength. What was  _up_  with her if it wasn't the Cruxis Crystal changing?

"If I don't come back in two months, tell everyone how cool I was," Zelos replied, completely insincere in his request. His eyes wandered to a small stack of letters on Seles's desk. Perhaps she was growing up after all, with her admirers.

Seles sneered. "I said, don't talk like that. Besides, if you're thinking of going into exile, you should at least take me with you. Once the Chosen system is gone, I won't have any allies."

"Aha!" he exclaimed. "I knew it! You lied about having friends, didn't you?"

"I did not!"

"… Is it Pacco?" Zelos goaded, grinning ear to ear.

"What exactly would make you think  _that_ , Big Brother?" she articulated with a straight face.

"Um, because he's the only guy in Meltokio so far who didn't seem to mind your mother was a half-elf."

"So? I could have other friends."

"Is he your…  _boooooyfriend_?" Zelos taunted. He leaned forward to better see her expression. She, in turn, grabbed his forehead and shoved him backward.

"EVEN if he were, I wouldn't parade around so the paparazzi would see," she said. "And anyway, he's not. I know better than to accept the first man who professes his love for me just because I've been alone for such a long time."

"Wow… that's… unexpectedly mature of you. Just make sure you're not turning anyone down because you're feeling stubborn."

"So basically, do the things I would have done anyway and which were things you totally screwed up," she summarized.

He smiled. Even the way she sat, legs crossed at the ankle and nose high in the air, seemed sophisticated. She was the perfect image of what a Chosen could have been. "I'm not a total screw-up, you know."

"Of course I know that," she said softly.

"Oh! Speaking of," Zelos said, brightening. "Did you ever get the shiny thing I promised? 'Cause I gave Tokunaga a blank check."

He felt for the velvet box still in his pocket, which contained both rings he'd been given by Mr. Penguin. Since that check was still out there, he figured it was kosher if he kept the rings secret from Seles. She didn't have to know at what cost he got them.

"You mean, you didn't notice?" Seles pushed her hair over her slightly-pointed ears to reveal a pair of dangling teardrop earrings. Their clear-white stones and gold setting implied a quality higher than the Glacies core.

"Whoa! You're gonna blind me with those things. Just how much did they cost?!"

"Not sooooo much," Seles drawled. "Just enough that you'll only go broke if you buy me the matching necklace."

Zelos faked a heart attack. "There was a matching necklace and you  _didn't get it_? I'm so proud… she's finally learning how to save money instead of letting our estate go broke," he congratulated.

"Ew, stoppit. You make it sound like there's going to be a problem," Seles said.

"There might be. But we'll be fine, I think. At least you'll be, if you don't waste all my money on a necklace. Besides, we've got something cooler than that. No matter what happens to all the Exspheres, we'll have these key crests. We could put them on a necklace or we could melt 'em down into something else."

Seles released a sigh. "So you're really thinking about getting rid of that Crystal."

"I think I found a purpose for it, as long as I can make sure it's not leeching my life out as we speak," Zelos stated. "But again, what does it matter? You have one fake jewel, I'll just get another and pretend I didn't chuck it away. Even if I did, the Chosen system dies with me. No use keeping something like that."

"Are you sure this is the right choice?"

"It's pretty much the only option. Remember that time, about the possibility of soul mates for Exspheres? I'm fairly sure that wasn't the case. I think the Cruxis Crystal is trying to feed off our mana signatures because of our relation to Martel, or something. It's like it knows that things in the world are unbalanced," he explained.

"You can't tell me the reason for your final mission, can you?" Seles pried.

"Sadly, I don't think so. I've already said way more than I shoulda."

"Boo. You suck, Zo."

"If I told you, I'd have to make you come along with all of the old crew…"

Seles wrenched her face in disgust. "Oh god, no. Not those people. I'm so over them. Do you know what a mess they made in the bathrooms last time you left?"

"I thought it wasn't your job to worry about cleaning the house."

Seles flushed. "I was bored and I couldn't go outside. I  _had_  to snoop," she said. "It wasn't as interesting as I thought it'd be, though. I'm so over Lloyd. And Genis snores really loud. I'm clearly way more refined than the Sylvaranti bumpkins."

"… and the Tethe'allan ones?" Zelos goaded.

"They could be worse. I still think your girlfriend's a bit on the dim side," Seles commented casually. She took a moment to inspect her nails before looking up for the reaction.

"I think you're jumping to conclusions," Zelos said. "But, you know, you should be nicer to her."

"Oh, come on, Zelos. I'm not blind."

Now that he thought about it, he remembered how incriminating it would have been for Seles to see Sheena's laundry in his room. "Right, right. Either way—"

"—Or deaf."

"You done?"

Seles raised her eyebrows condescendingly. "Continue."

"Thought's gone. You made me lose my train of thought entirely."

"Fine," Seles conceded. "But really, are you sure she's not going to hurt you again? I hate it when you mope around."

"I won't mope if you can introduce me to your friends!" Zelos wagered.

"Sometime later. Clearly, you have a lot more important people to see right now. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it," Seles paused to grab a couple of opened envelopes from her desk, "you got this letter. It's from the Mayor of Flanoir, something about how he wants his door replaced?"

Zelos had to think for a minute before recalling how badly he'd wrecked it when he tried to rescue Colette from Richter. He laughed aloud. "Oh man, I didn't think he'd actually go through with it, addressed it to me and all!"

Seles handed the envelopes to him. "And there's also a bill from the king about those guards you wanted employed to protect our house while you were gone the first time," she explained, "but I think you should appeal for the state to pay that one." She gave a cheesy wink.

Zelos had to smile. The fact that Seles was making jokes about mundane things continued to astound him. He almost wanted to show her off in front of the court to prove how poised she was.

"Right. I'll make sure to deal with those. Actually, I have to chat with Sebastian about a couple of things downstairs. Wanna come?" he offered, standing.

"Sure! I'm kind of bored in here by myself."

"So  _that_ 's why you felt like you had to read through my personal mail…"

"You read  _my_  mail!"

"Blah-blah-blah, don't care," Zelos sang. He trotted back down the hallway and stairs with a flustered—but breathing freely—Seles jogging behind.

The various headlines spread out for him on the fancy dining room table read, in order: "78 Murdered in Flanoir," "Ambush in Altamira," "The End of the Vanguard?" "A Call to Arms: Local Mercenaries Speak Out," "Sylvaranti Spruce-Up Slums," and his personal favorite from just the day before, "Princess Hilda's Wild Night on the Town."

"That one's all about how Elena and Brittania are hanging out with her now that you're their number one enemy," Seles explained.

"Oh, how smart of them." Zelos sipped his wine gratefully, reading over the most interesting parts of each paper. Made him miss the ridiculous drama of the Meltokio aristocracy. But now he'd have to return to the harsh reality of the fate of the world.

"I should go see the King," he told Seles and Sebastian. "Do you think he can tell how much I drank?"

Seles leaned in and took a whiff of the air around Zelos. "Nah. Besides, you really can't wait if you're going to leave in the morning."

"And I recommend taking your weapon just in case," Sebastian said.

The streets were not as dangerous as Zelos's butler had insinuated they might be. In fact, it seemed they were quite the opposite; hauntingly absent of a single soul in the afternoon light. Hopefully, they wouldn't all secretly be waiting for him in the royal receiving hall.

"Yo, Guardly," Zelos addressed an armored guard. "I'm requesting immediate audience with the King."

"Yes, Chosen One," the guard agreed, and shuffled Zelos through the familiar door.

Another citizen was reporting, and while the option was offered for Zelos to override his audience, Zelos let the unknown man talk. Besides, the man looked pretty peasant-ish. It was not a long wait before Zelos found himself bowing gracelessly before the King of Tethe'alla.

"Chosen One, welcome back. I must say that it is a surprise to see you at this juncture given the news about the Vanguard," the King said.

"Your Majesty," Zelos acknowledged. "I agree; it's a bit odd. But we had to split up and tie up some loose ends before making our final push toward world safety. And actually, one of those loose ends is right here."

"Oh?"

Zelos could feel himself start to lose resolve. "Well, for starters, I don't think I'm going to wanna foot the bill for those couple of soldiers that guarded my house while I was on your mission. I wasn't happy to see that bill."

"Bill?" the King bellowed. "We do not send private bills to the residences of noblemen. It must be a scam."

"What? Then… but… how would anybody know about that?" Zelos stammered.

"An elaborate prank, perhaps. Unfortunately, although I can protect some of the Chosen's integrity, I cannot protect all of it."

"That's the other thing…" There was that feeling in his gut, mingling with the alcohol. "About the Chosen thing. When I go on this mission, Lloyd will be leading us into the Ginnungagap." The King's face animated with alarm. "No, no, it's not particularly dangerous. However, there's a procedure—a magical implement—that we might need to carry out and it utilizes my Cruxis Crystal. I'm, uh, figuring I should tell you this just in case something should happen. If there was any kind of insurance on it, or anything…"

"Do you suggest that you will need to remain in the Ginnungagap?"

"Not exactly, but…" Zelos trailed off. Perhaps telling the King about his plan to ditch the Crystal wasn't such a good idea.

"It is an Exsphere by nature, you know," the King then explained. "It will need to be destroyed sooner or later."

Zelos swallowed. "That is true. However, when I spoke with the guardian of the World Tree, he seemed to think that if I removed the Crystal for good—say, if I destroyed it or gave it to someone out of my bloodline, there might be some ill effects. Would you happen to know about any information regarding that?" he asked.

"Ah." The King paused in thought.

"… So, is that a…?"

"I cannot say that I have knowledge of any records, but I can say that neither your father nor any recent Chosens of Tethe'alla have experienced ill effects of a dysfunctional Cruxis Crystal. However, until now, it has not been an option to eliminate the Crystal. We cannot possibly know what will happen if a Chosen outlives it."

"I suppose I'll be the experiment, then," Zelos said somberly.

"I suppose you shall. And I do wonder what will become of your title should the Cruxis Crystal go missing."

"I'd be more than happy to let the whole mana lineage of the Chosen go with me to my grave, whenever that'll be."

"And I wholeheartedly agree. However, for the sake of the nation," the King began, "I must allow the council of the Church to weigh in on the matter."

Zelos frowned. "That could take a while. I don't have a while. I might actually only have one day," he admitted.

The King sat straighter upon his throne. "I see."

"And juuuust to throw it in there, there was that one time I stopped you from being poisoned to death."

"I am aware, Chosen. However, it is the law for me to hold an emergency meeting. I can attempt to have the answer upon your arrival, but I can ultimately promise you nothing," the King said sternly.

Zelos tucked back his shoulderblades. "That will have to do," he resigned. "And one last thing, have you thought about the desegregation of half-elves at all? We honestly need to figure out what we're doing with this system if Sylvaranti people are actually residing in the slums."

The King smiled. "Ah, Chosen One, if indeed your title is stripped, I think you would make a fine statesman." Zelos wanted to thank him, but the remark seemed inappropriate. Where were the answers? "I shall see to it that you are a part of that process, if you wish to be."

"I'd like that. My gratitude, Your Highness," Zelos said, bowing not quite as low as he should have.

"You are dismissed. Please take care on your journey and ensure that our world is safe," the King said finally.

On the walk back, Zelos mourned the fact that he'd forgotten to disarm the King by asking about Princess Hilda. That would have been the best comeback to a royal man who didn't seem to be completely listening to his needs. Ah, well.

Seles, at home, suggested that the four of them (including butler and bodyguard) dine at the Sancta Cassius Inn down by the Elemental Lab. Zelos had to oblige, since she looked so excited about it, and since he didn't have much time before he'd have to take the busted Rheaird back to Altamira. He was surprised that Seles would deign to eat at a place that wasn't her own kitchen with her own nutritional staff, but he supposed that she was looking for more of an experience.

"Isn't this wonderfully rustic?" she asked him at one point. He knew he had to have been right, back in Verius's presence, when he guessed that Seles would want to see more of the outside world once she recovered.

"Uh, sure, it's sure charming." Zelos looked to the waitress, who was dressed in a gaudy mockup of Tethe'allan noblewomen's style. Actually, it wasn't a bad replica of something he'd seen his fans wear, minus the fact that the gold trim looked plastic. And—ouch—it looked like there was attached in the back with Velcro.

The waitress was peeking through the curtains of one of the large windows. She suddenly whipped around and rushed to the door leading to the front desk.

"Wonder what that's about," Seles said absently. For a moment, Sebastian and Tokunaga continued to drink their dessert coffee.

Zelos sat up. "Uh oh. It could be monsters reaching the city." He shucked off the cloth napkin from his lap and rushed to the window. "Son of a bitch."

"What is it, Master Zelos?" Sebastian asked, standing as well.

"Looks like there might be some trouble with the locals. I'll be right back," he said. Luckily, he hadn't removed the sword from his belt after returning from the palace. From the looks of it, a gang of Tethe'allan nobles were ganging up on a ragged-looking man. Sad, but common in the lower district.

Zelos bounded out of the front entrance to the Inn and almost tripped over himself.

Emil, who was supposed to have been in Luin, was standing with Marta among the fray. Tenebrae must have been nearby, too, but it was probably for the best that none of the outsiders knew about him.

"Stop it! Not every Sylvaranti is in the Vanguard!" Marta shouted. She didn't seem to notice Zelos, so he hesitated to move.

"Mind your own business!" one of the nobles cursed, and swiped at the air in front of him.

"I'm telling you, he's not in the Vanguard! If you really want to beat up someone in the Vanguard, then try me! I'm genuine, bona fide Vanguard!" Marta insisted.

"Marta?" Emil said. He gave her a cautioning look.

Another noble, who looked strikingly familiar, pounded a fist into his hand. "Fine with me! We'll beat your ass all the way to prison!"

"Hey, hey, that's enough. How about you stop embarrassing Tethe'alla?" Zelos shouted, stepping out of the shadows and pointing to the nobles. Emil and Marta turned their heads momentarily, but Emil's hand was still on the hilt of his sword.

"Zelos…" Marta looked relieved.

"Anyway, the Vanguard rebellion's already over…"

"What are you talking about, Chosen One? It's your fault they've gotten so cocky-associating with them like they were equals."

"What did you say?!" Zelos raged. To imply that he'd been associating with the  _Vanguard_  couldn't have been farther than the truth. What was going on here?

The other familiar-looking man grunted. "The Chosen system will soon be dissolved. As long as you defend them, you're just another cowardly Vanguard sympathizer to us!"

That's when Zelos recognized: the noble brute was at Countess Rattenmeier's party, standing somewhere near the crepe table when Rattenmeier pointed out Pacco. Who was he? Perhaps he shouldn't have been so self-righteous if even the Chosen didn't know who he was. Maybe his noble title was Stander at Crepe Table, since they seemed to be throwing out useless titles left and right. And the poor-looking man on the ground; he was the man who had just been in audience with the King. That in itself was a feat, as the King pretended to be busy more often than not in order to avoid speaking with the hoi polloi. It must have been important to him if he persisted beyond the usual declined invitation.

Then, a third nobleman staggered as a rock fell to the ground behind him. "What was that?!"

The party turned to see a small family, a mother and her young sons, who must have seen the disruption from the edge of the slums. Uh-oh. How long would it be before a riot formed, and the Chosen would be at the center of it?

"Leave them alone. You're disgraceful!" the mother, hurler of rocks, accused.

"You street rats have no business telling us what to do," Crepe Table sneered.

"That attitude is the problem. Half-elf or human, rich or poor," the mother cried. "Not everyone fits into your pre-defined boxes!"

"And what's wrong with that? Half-elves bring disaster. Sylvaranti are hopeless primitives. All you trash just bring the rest of us down. None of you are anything like us," the first noble spat. Across the street, the door to the bakery swung open and two strong-armed men emerged, bee lining for the growing crowd. They must have been brothers for their looks, carrying some pretty stern-looking rolling pins in the same swaggering manner.

Zelos snuck over to Marta and Emil, gently tugging at their shoulders. "You guys, you might want to back off over here for a sec. Something's about to go down."

"Right," Emil said, and the three of them skirted back.

"Hey, we're proud to be nothing like you! Because none of us would want to be grouped with such ignorant, foul-hearted people!" one of the bakers shouted. That got the nobles' attention.

"You peasants! You would side with the Vanguard?"

"We're not siding with the Vanguard. We're trying to stop a bunch of stupid, stuck-up aristocrats from making trouble in our town!" the other baker said.

"Damn it! Do you hear me? Get out of Meltokio now, you Sylvaranti swine!" Crepe Table said. It wasn't long before he took a swing at the bakers. But that gave Emil the chance to dash in and grab the Sylvaranti peasant man from the scene.

"Quick! The inn!" Zelos yelled. The four of them fled in the direction of the inn, and the mother and her children followed—they must have been the man's family. Once safely inside, Zelos called for the gaudily dressed waitress to bar the doors. Sebastian had been standing nearby, and he must have instructed the stern-looking innkeeper to keep the door unlocked in case Zelos would need refuge. Very handy.  _Note to self, give Sebastian another raise._

Marta, after catching her breath, said, "I'm so sorry. This is all the Vanguard's fault."

The Sylvarant peasant wiped his sweaty brow. "No, they were harassing me because I'm from the slums. Though, the Vanguard has made it harder for us to get around recently..."

"What? I thought Sylvaranti were 'sprucing up' the slums. What's the deal with you and your family looking so bedraggled?" Zelos asked the man.

The woman put her arms around her sons, who clung to her. "We tried to make a life for ourselves here, but nobody would buy our wares. You mustn't judge us, Chosen, for we are trying our hardest to get back on our feet."

Zelos was taken aback. "Judge? Why would I—" He noticed Marta and Emil's confused expressions. "Okay, I see why you'd think that. But don't you worry, my diamond in the rough. This just means I'll have to have another chat with the King."

"Ah! Yes, my husband said that he had seen you there this afternoon," the woman said. "He was trying to lobby for some equal rights for Sylvaranti shop owners, you see."

"And those ruffians outside were convinced the ones throwing rocks through the glass of my shop, before I shut it down. But this girl knows just as well as we do that we're not Vanguard," the man explained.

Marta bowed her head. "The Vanguard have done some really horrible things. We can't change the past, but we can make sure the world starts changing now. Right?"

"I dunno how easy it will be to change the minds of those nobles, Marta, dear," Zelos said.

"But you saw those other men, right? They didn't have the same prejudices," Emil pointed out. "I think, maybe the problem is we're still looking at people in terms of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla."

"Yes, it shouldn't matter where someone's from," the Sylvaranti woman said.

"I guess we've been dividing people into Sylvaranti and Tethe'allan without realizing it," her husband added.

"Someday soon, I hope we can all realize we're companions under the same World Tree," Emil said.

Zelos smiled. The kid had some promise after all; too bad he was thinking about sacrificing himself to seal the door. "Hey, Sebastian, would it be possible for you to buy these guys a hot meal?" he asked, making a sweeping motion toward the peasants. Marta's jaw all but dropped.

"Right away, Master Zelos. Please, do come with me," Sebastian offered. The little family, still shaken, seemed grateful to be offered such a kindness from a Tethe'allan, much less the Chosen One.

"Zelos, I never thought you'd do something like that!" Marta said.

"Normally, I wouldn't. It's more about teaching the man to fish than giving him a meal for one night," he explained. "But this is the most I can do, given that I'm headed for a demonic realm. Might take a while to get the King to process legislation on re-zoning, don't you think?"

"Still, I can't believe you've gone from philanderer to philanthropist!" Marta exclaimed.

Zelos smirked. "Not sure I've ever been either, but if you wanna make that the next tabloid, you do that, sweetheart. Hey Emil, did you accomplish what you needed to do here?"

Emil didn't turn his head to respond to Zelos's question; busy looking in the direction Sebastian went. Zelos saw why—there was his sister, standing silently in the doorway.

"Actually, I, uh, just wanted to see this place so I could etch it into my mind," Emil answered slowly, still looking at Seles.

"I doubt you'll forget about our little adventure with Seles. We're grateful, by the way."

"Well don't just stand there," Seles called. "You all can get something to eat if you want, too!"

"Ain't you a darling," Zelos emphasized.

"Actually, I'm not that hungry," Emil said. He looked at Marta, then down at the floor. "And we'll be leaving in a moment."

"Well, damn. I guess I should get a move on, soon, too. How about you stay until I've finished my meal? Have a piece of cake, or something. Take it with you," Zelos offered.

Marta's face lit up. "Wow! Really? Are you sure?"

Seles motioned with her arm. "For sure! Come on over here. You're just lucky that we were here to begin with," she said. Marta went over to her and they chatted about how lucky it was that Seles was breathing better, how she looked happier than normal.

Before Emil could follow into the dining room, Zelos caught him. "Hey. You're acting weird."

"What?" The boy gave a hazy double-take.

"About guarding the door. Just don't get it into your head that you have to sacrifice yourself tomorrow. It's not your only option, you know," Zelos advised. "You can wait until the last minute to decide for sure what you wanna do, but please think it over, Emil. There's more than one way to save someone."

"I—I know that," he said.

"That's all I'm gonna say. I trust in your decision. I mean, look at the way you handled that man out there."

"I didn't really save him. I was in the right place at the right time."

"If you say so. But you've earned a nice bite before our last night. Let's go," Zelos said. He walked Emil into the dining room, where Seles thanked him profusely and had already ordered him a big mug of potion.

Too soon, the teenagers excused themselves to get on their way to Altamira, for the sun was about to set and it seemed the riot from earlier had dispersed. Zelos would have gone with them, but he wanted to take Seles home, at the very least. The peasant family thanked them, and the waitress seemed to think it would be a good idea to call the press for tomorrow's paper—that's when Zelos knew he had to hoof it out of there. Tokunaga and Sebastian were on high alert for any suspicious-looking paparazzi, but they arrived in the noble district without incident.

At the front door to the mansion, Seles turned to face her brother. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Not really. Don't sweat it. And don't convert my room into a shoe closet while I'm gone," Zelos said. He launched into an embrace. "Stay strong, kiddo."

"I will," she promised. "And, you know, I might even follow up with that family. They seem to think you're a big deal."

"Yeah, y'know, I'm just dashingly handsome, giving, and such a great big brother and all."

"Now that's a stretch. Shut up and try to drive that Rheaird better than how you landed it," Seles said. Tokunaga opened the door for her. "See you later, Big Bro."

"Back atcha, li'l sis!" Seles had already stopped paying attention to him and was on her way to her room. Zelos turned to the family butlers. "Tokunaga, keep a good eye on her. Oh, and Sebastian, keep a good eye on Tokunaga."

"As ever," Tokunaga replied.

"You needn't worry, Master Zelos," Sebastian assured.

"I'll be back soon."

With luck, the Rheaird in the garden sputtered awake and Zelos took flight.

By the time he reached Altamira's Grand Resort Hotel, it was dark and the concierge attested that many of his companions had retired from the small gathering they'd had on the second floor. He took his chances and stopped on the second floor anyway, where he was grateful to see a sole person, a certain ninja waiting for him at the bar.

"I  _knew_ you couldn't resist," he chuckled, taking the seat next to her and placing his hand over his.

"Ugh. You have no idea the day I've just had." Sheena's face was visibly worn with concern. Hence, the nearly-full glass of some fruity, girly-looking drink on a napkin in front of her.

"Well?" Zelos prodded. But she wouldn't talk. "Y'know what? Forget about it. I've had a long day, too. Finish your drink and meet me up in the room?"

"Nah, let's just go," she said, throwing down a couple gald and taking the glass with her as she stood. "Besides, I hear there's this stupid redhead guy who promised me a good night."

"Promised? Hey now, I didn't promise aaaanything like that…"

"Nah, I think I heard a promise in there somewhere."

"I think I want some of that drink of yours," Zelos said. He flung an arm over her waist as they took to the elevator. "All these duties I have as a Chosen…"

"Stop talking." She pushed the glass up to his mouth to force the stuff on him so she'd be free to press the button for their floor.

"Oof, what's  _in_  this?" Zelos retched. "It's 95% liquor."

"Still not enough to get me drunk," Sheena sighed. The doors closed.

"Well, in case anyone asks, I'll make sure to tell them you were trashed."

Sheena seized the glass back out of Zelos's hand. "Cruxis your heart and hope to die?"

"Only for you, hunny," he mumbled. "Only for you."


	13. And Here I Am

Winter devoured the space in the air. The falling snow was now so gentle that it disrespected the blizzard that had come before it. It must have snowed for days straight. There was an accumulation of at least four feet of the stuff sitting around on the streets of Meltokio, leaving every soul hard-pressed to venture outside. The city folk considered it bad luck; the king of Tethe'alla considered it a blessing. At least with this much snow, the evidence would be covered.

Mylene Wilder was dead. You know the story. She shielded her four-year-old son from a magic attack and fell bloody and thankless to the snow below. Then, she told him that his existence was useless. They dragged him away before he realized it was the last time he'd ever see her.

Four-year-old Zelos Wilder was kept under lock and key in his room. They'd tried to console him, but every servant of the Church that tried to visit ended up getting bitten or bruised or worse, so the easiest solution was just to let him have his tantrum until he was ready to communicate with words.

There's a saying in Tethe'alla that people used when they doubted an outcome, the equivalent of the Sylvaranti "when pigs fly": "when red snow falls." The notion of red snow sounded so impossible that it was used in colloquial metaphor. Surely, the inventor of the phrase never anticipated that Zelos would interpret the red flecks of blood bursting into the sky as the proverbial red snow. Not a soul could convince the boy that the world wasn't about to end.

Not a soul, of course, except for one blue-haired angel.

It was a scene from the tale of Spiritua, who was a Chosen of long ago, back when Tethe'alla struggled rather than thrived. When Spiritua's day of Oracle came, a blue-haired angel led her through her trials. And now, a blue-haired man with wings descended upon the Wilder Estate. At nightfall, when one or all of the guards had presumed Zelos to be disarmed while sleeping, the blue-haired angel crept through the corridor on the second floor and awakened the boy gently.

"Quiet," the angel advised when the boy stirred. "You must wake up and listen to me. I am Spiritua's guide."

The boy was fascinated with the glowing purple wings that trailed behind the supposed angel. He seemed nice enough, or nicer than the guards or grownups had been. So Zelos clapped his hand over his mouth obediently.

"Do you wish to escape this place and live a life from the fairy tales?"

Zelos nodded, his hand awkwardly following the movement of his chin.

"You must trust me. I'm going to pick you up and we will fly to the land of the angels."

The land of the angels was a heavenly metaphor used in the Church of Martel. Zelos had heard it a hundred times. Perhaps his mother was there now, he thought. When you die, if you're good and you didn't deserve it, you went to the land of the angels. That was that.

Only the "land of the angels" was Welgaia on the rock Derris Kharlan; the blue-headed man was Yuan; Spiritua was another failed vessel for Martel; and, of course, this was a kidnapping.

Or, a kid, napping, since Zelos slept for most of the flight. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a carpet the color of emeralds. And then he saw the gray, mechanical walls. Heaven wasn't the bright-light, clouded, free range of the stories.

He was guided by Yuan to meet Pronyma, a higher-up official, and some of the Grand Cardinals who just happened to be convening a meeting regarding the state of some strange-sounding town. Pronyma didn't much care for the reticent redheaded child, believing that if he wouldn't talk now he'd soon start keeping secrets from everyone. She would be right, but not for that reason. She took it upon herself to train the boy when the time came.

At long last, they approached the chamber of the Cruxis leader, Lord Yggdrasill, a man who was so beautiful he could have been a woman. What a strange shiny suit he was wearing, Zelos thought. Even at that age he had seen so many officials' vestments that he knew when something was foreign to him. But this was the realm of the angels.

Every puzzle has cracks in between its pieces. There's a part of this story that Zelos never remembered, which was between meeting "Lord" Yggdrasill and waking up in a cool, bright room. Perhaps there were tests done, blood drawn, mana signatures written out and saved in dozens of locations. And when all was said and done, somebody with a clipboard said, "Yes, it will be him. We must start him early."

Despite the horrors he'd undergone, on the morning of the next day, when the sun peeked from the clouds and set the snow ablaze with light, Zelos awoke with a smile on his face. He opened his own door and began to tell the servants about how he had seen an angel last night. Some of the women tearfully listened to the story, thinking that he'd simply longed for his mother; they would be the first women to give him so much attention. The ones that weren't touched were simply grateful that he wasn't kicking and screaming and might have given him an extra treat when he left them without scars.

When Pyrios Wilder heard the story, he maintained that his son would not be out of anyone's sight, and hired his personal butler full-time to see to the demand.

The butler cared for Zelos with his wife, the Wilder Estate cook, until she left one day out of the blue. The butler also had to take care of the father when he got too drunk and mean, which happened, sometimes.

Then, the father left one day, too.  _Too dragged down by rumors_ , the gray-haired ladies of the court would tell him.  _What a shame. Poor little you, youngest we've seen yet_.

Instead of kicking and screaming as before, seven-year-old Zelos Wilder was wise enough to sit by himself and speak when spoken to; which was often, since many had come both to grieve Pyrios's death and to congratulate the Chosen of Tethe'alla on his new and grown-up duties as the head of the house Wilder. It was then that he also had to meet his half-sister, about whom he had previously not known.

Seles Valz was brought to Zelos handcuffed and led by a nun. She looked enough like him, he guessed. Same eyes and all. Her hair was even reddish like his. But her ears had a strange little point at the top. Not quite half-elf, but not quite human, either. She was very well-mannered for a five-year-old and didn't even pull his hair or hit him like the other kids did sometimes. But she was clutching the nun's arm tightly and looked pale as a sheet.

"You didn't ask to be here either," he told her. Then he looked the nun square in the eye. "She's my sister, right? Why isn't her name Seles  _Wilder_?"

Neither butler nor nun could answer without stuttering like a liar. The nun said something like, "By blood, she is only half-related, Chosen One."

"So is my mom, if I have a mom and a dad. Make her have my name," he ordered. Although it was a selfish demand of a seven-year-old, somehow the change was made. Seles left the funeral no longer tied to the name of her murderous mother but sadly, still handcuffed. The grownups stayed out of his way after that.

That night, after Pyrios's funeral, the angel visited him again, and the cycle of conditioning truly began. Zelos was old enough to know how to lie, so he told nobody of the fantastical world he visited after bedtime, not even the butler.

Pronyma snatched him night after night, bribing him to study the Angelic language and learn about history so that he'd be smarter and better than the parents who left him. She congratulated herself for creating such an efficient machine. Every time the boy didn't learn something as well as he should have, or misbehaved in any way, she instilled in him a sense of guilt. He was, after all, shaping up to be the worst Chosen in the history of all Chosens, she'd say. They could kill him and the sister he irrationally loved if he'd rather just get it over with. Or they could make it a whole lot worse. But he wasn't ready for worse just yet. The organization under Mithos decided it would be best to antagonize his success, not to quash it.

Later, when Zelos hit the edge of puberty, he started to realize that teenage girls and women alike were going out of their way to talk to him. Little girls came calling to his house, their mothers asking for play-dates and study sessions. The girls in school even stopped pulling his hair and started playing with it. Once, he even met a weird foreign girl who lived at the Elemental Research Lab. She talked about seeing spirits, which sounded almost like his angels. He was glad he didn't tell her everything about them, though.

When Zelos bragged about this to his mentor Pronyma, she demanded that "Lord" Yggdrasill meet with the boy. "If you let a woman get too close to you, she will start to change who you are. Better to keep them at a distance. You ought to learn about the true nature of human beings." It seemed silly, coming from an angelic being who was, obviously to Zelos's eyes, a woman herself.

It was time to tell Zelos about how manipulative humans could be. They only wanted him for his influence and power. Being a Chosen had gotten him into this mess, hadn't it? His mother's murder, his father's suicide, this strange and frail half-sister of his whom he never saw, the way people asked him for favors, the way everyone pretended they cared when in fact they would be happy to see him die and his sister take over. He was worthless as a Chosen. After all, what had he done for Tethe'alla?

Pronyma would further urge the boy to conceal the knowledge given to him by Cruxis and offered him a deal. If Zelos would just aid Cruxis in its mission for a few years more, he would be relieved of his status as the Chosen forever. The Cruxis Crystal on his chest was there to give him strength and remind him of his ultimate goal. It would help him revive the goddess and her grace would ensure that he lived the rest of his life without the clawing hands of people on Tethe'alla and the connected world, Sylvarant.

But in order to activate the protection of the Cruxis Crystal, there was a little process they'd have to put him through, you see. The pain would only last for a little, but he'd be a warrior fit for "Lord" Yggdrasill's right hand when it was all over.

They gave him a little injection of some glowing red stuff one day. He stopped sleeping. He stopped being hungry. He stopped having a sense for the world around him. He stopped talking. And then, when he came back to his senses, he started training with a sword. First, he only trained with Pronyma, but later he was allowed to apprentice at the Coliseum, which ended up earning him yet more unwanted admirers. At least their patronage allowed him to practice his magical swordsmanship to its utmost.

Eventually, he began to "thank" the young ladies that supported him by inviting them to parties, where the girls would prove to be shameless underneath their expensive gowns. Zelos always managed to get back to Welgaia in time to be chastised by Pronyma, though. She'd caught on to his game and reminded him that this was the beginning of Pyrios's story, as well, and the reason Pyrios offed himself was because he fell for one of the women who flocked to him instead of the woman who was going to pass on the mana signature of Martel.

So Zelos stopped inviting individual girls and started forcing them to surround him in groups, where he knew they'd fight if one got more attention than the others. Of course, he didn't tell the fools that he didn't want their attention in the first place. That would have been too easy.

The Cruxis Crystal had activated something deeply painful in him, and it was a self-loathing that would haunt his every decision. He truly shouldn't have been born. If his father only hadn't made those horrible mistakes, there would be no reason to hate that Zelos would be the Chosen heir. He'd better learn to carry the weight of dead Chosens that resided in his heart, the only reason he'd had so much strength to bite and kick and injure as a young boy. Perhaps the only way to bear it would be to share it with the only other person qualified to learn the ways of Cruxis in his stead.

After the angel status was official, just before his eighteenth birthday, he switched his Cruxis Crystal with Seles's Exsphere secretly, so that just in case he died while serving Cruxis, she would have a way of getting what was rightfully hers.

And that was that. He learned to have a warm face but a cold heart, especially when attending the King's court. He learned to talk back to Yggdrasill when he could get away with it. He learned that Yuan wasn't telling the whole truth about Yggdrasill's plan, and so decided to pitch in with the Renegades.

This was the part of the dream that kept coming back even years after the Journey of Regeneration showed him that some people aren't all that bad, really. There was Yuan, next to the roguish Botta, with the halo of ceiling light creating fragments of shadows around them. "You will serve well as our pawn."

A pawn. It made him sick. That's what the power of the Crystal had reduced him to.

In his sleep, this scene played an endless loop, getting hazier and hazier and he feared he would wake choking on empty sobs if he couldn't shake himself of it.

"ZELOS," Yuan's voice boomed suddenly in the dream. "YOU'LL KNOW WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT WHAT YOU MUST DO."

_What must I do?_

"YOU WILL SEE THE SACRIFICE." Another voice. A different voice. Mithos?

Oh no, not again, he thought. That wasn't the road he wanted to go down. Oh well; at least he  _tried_  to get some answers.

But ends would be tied up. It wasn't three years ago. He wasn't alone anymore. And while Emil was not resigned to die, Zelos would still risk putting the Cruxis Crystal on him and hoping that the spirit of mana would work itself out. He had to be rid of it. He had to be rid of these dreams and headaches and memories of feeling worthless and the endless, endless questioning of the public. Maybe when they saw him without his Cruxis Crystal, they'd wise up. Maybe they, too, would stop feeling like they needed to get his attention and just give him theirs. Like Lloyd. Like sweet, innocent Colette.

This one, too, for instance. Why, she was resting with her head on his chest and looking through the window in silent awareness, waiting for him to wake. His breathing pattern inevitably changed as he resigned himself to quit the memories that plagued his dream. If Sheena was awake before him―which was a rare occurrence―it was past 7:30. But well-earned.

"Urnggh," Zelos groaned, lurching and gently repositioning Sheena to the side of him.

"It's past nine, sleepyhead," she said softly.

"No wanna wake uuup," he whined.

"You have to sooner or later."

He blinked and drew his face closer to hers. "Nooooo."

Sheena squirmed. "Your breath stinks."

He closed his eyes. "Your face stinks."

She hummed a brief note. "You don't mean that. You're still sleeping."

"No I'm not." Zelos stretched his spine and writhed to get comfortable again.

"Then you're hung over."

"Uh-uh. I had a weird dream," he confessed. Sheena rolled to her stomach and propped herself on her elbows, head tipped in interest. "The one about Cruxis, again."

"Weird."

"I know. It was. I think my brain is trying to figure out weird… shit. I dunno. All I know is that I'm too pretty to miss out on this beauty sleep," he mumbled.

"Well, I want you to go brush your teeth. Or do you want the maid to make up the bed with you still in it?" Sheena warned.

Zelos seized the covers and threw them over his head. "Yes."

Sheena wrestled the blankets away and exposed him to the chill, unfamiliar air. "Ack! It's friggin' freezing in here!" he yelled. Sheena giggled at her victory, but only until Zelos pulled her down to him. "I need a new blanket!"

Awkwardly latched into place, Sheena yelped sarcastically, "Oh boy, I hope it's me. That would not be uncomfortable in any way."

"SHH," Zelos hushed, putting his entire palm over her face, "you're going to wake the children with your demon shrieks!" His other hand tickled her sides, and she laughed hard.

"Oh god, make it stop!" she plead, as though that might actually stop him. She twisted out of his grasp just long enough to sit up and away from him. "You jerk! You're such a dork."

"But I'm just so darn lovable," Zelos added with all the persuasion he could muster. Sheena rolled her eyes and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"I hate you."

"I hate you too, hunny." He leaned up and barely pressed his lips to hers when she recoiled.

"Ew, no, stinky breath," she reminded him.

"Yours is, too!"

"No, it's not. That's yours. I brushed mine earlier when you were sleeping."

"Fine. Will you give me a real smooch if I go brush my teeth?"

"Maybe," she said, and covered herself with the blankets after he left the bed. "I bet the others are waiting for us."

"Can't be helped," Zelos agreed. He ducked down to retrieve his neatly-sloughed clothes.

"Although, I bet we would have woken up earlier if  _someone_  had shown up when everyone else did last night."

"Hey, you could have woken me up!" Zelos sifted through his small travel pack for his toothbrush, which he then pointed at Sheena.

"I―That's not fair! That's your job." She sat up and defensively drew her knees up to her chest.

"I thought my job was to be the handsome, dashing, talented―"

"Some job!" she scoffed.

"Hey, your job is getting dressed now," Zelos ordered. Brushing his teeth in this hotel bathroom was beginning to feel too familiar, no thanks to the many nights they'd stopped here on their journeys. He was in a daze until he spat and rinsed out his mouth. No time to take care of this junky day-old stubble on his chin, though. It could wait.

When he returned to the room, Sheena had already put up her hair and dressed mostly. She held out her long pink obi. "Wanna tie this for me?" Aw, man, Zelos was weak for that. Whenever she let him take care of her outside of the usual physical expectations, he had to remind himself to do it with reverence and not desperation. "―Don't mess it up, though. If it comes undone in battle, I'll kill you."

He grinned widely and snatched the obi from her. "Oh my, in front of everyone? They'd think you cared about me or something."

Sheena lifted her arms so that he could wind the fabric around her, and adjusted the robe's closure in front. "Well, I'm pretty sure all of this would fall out, and you'd make some perverted remark, and then it'd look like you were an idiot after all."

"Gee, I never knew 'tying the knot' would be so  _stressful_ ," Zelos groaned sarcastically.

"Y-you're making the bow, though, right?" Sheena tried to turn her head to see.

"Stand still! It's almost done." He pulled the last bit through its loop and saw to the evenness at the bottom. "I'd say it's my best work yet."

Sheena inspected herself in front of the mirror. "That's actually not bad. You could still use some lessons from Mizuho, though."

"Tch. As if they'd want me to learn about tying obi this way and that. They'd think I was a pervert who learned how to put them on so I could take them off without anyone knowing the difference!"

"And that's different from this, how?" she asked pointedly. Adding the red sash to the front, she double-checked the obi's tightness.

"... So, when you went to Mizuho," Zelos said suddenly. He received a blank stare.

"So, what? I finished my business there. Paperwork." She set to securing the bag containing her cards.

Unsettling; Sheena almost never talked about the paperwork, he knew. "Weren't you going to talk to your Grandpa about something?"

She glared. "That's strictly Mizuho business."

"Whaaa? Does this mean nothing to you?" he dramatized.

"No, it's just that I'm not allowed to tell you! Are you ready to go? Emil's probably worried enough as it is…"

In no hurry to hustle to the door, Zelos stood with his arms crossed. "I'm not going until I get what you promised," he said. Sheena's face froze for a moment before she tilted her head in confusion. "My kiss, you dummy."

"Oh. That!" she laughed falsely. She moved from the alcove by the door back to where he was standing.

"Make it count, princess."

She reached out and put her hand to his cheek before closing the space between them, and he held her gently at the waist. His mouth met hers with a yielding fervor, which, for a moment, reminded him why he was choosing his mortality over the gifts of the Cruxis Crystal. So, yeah, he guessed she'd have to deal with the fact that he intended to bother her, flirt with her, and take her on random tours of the world until the end of his days. He just wasn't going to  _tell_  her that until this battle was over.

"Mm. Remind me again why we have to go downstairs?" Zelos muttered against her lips. She pushed a final peck before relaxing back on her heels.

"Because the world will be engulfed by Niflheim if we don't?"

"Aaaaall right. We'd better get a move on," he lamented. He let her go with a smile and grabbed his sword and accoutrements.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A large platform descended and revealed a vast underworld of the Otherworldly Gate. The group, encircled around Emil and Marta protectively, scanned the scene. The air in front of them was misted through in every direction, with strange tendril-like columns twisting this way and that. It was not wholly unlike Derris Kharlan.

"This place seems different from the other places we've been," Marta said through the thick of the fog.

Across the circle, Colette screamed.

A flash of white light engulfed her, and she was gone faster than a Mizuho ninja in a cloud of smoke.

"What?!" Genis squeaked before he, too, disappeared.

"It's a tr―!" Raine began. Gone.

"Aaah!"

The time that it took Zelos to turn his head toward Sheena felt like an eternity. She was disappearing, too. Every fluttering millisecond vividly revealed that the white light was some barrier being wrapped around her body and sealing her away before the vanishing moment. He couldn't help but shut his eyes from the flash, although his hand jolted out as though he could somehow reach her through the invisible barrier. It felt― "No way!" he muttered in shock. Then he was grabbed by the force of the light and forced into some impossibly heavy space.

Teal towers fizzled into black in his field of vision. As though his eyes were closed, Zelos's brain was compressing the space in front of him into a dimensionless blob of darkness. But he couldn't actually close his eyes. He couldn't even feel the tiny muscles around it, and no matter how hard he forced himself to think about blinking them, he was unable. His body, too, was immobile. And then, the squeezing; from his head to his toes, he felt gravity seize the life force in his veins and force it down.

The disappearing, the heaviness: it was all consistent with something he'd felt in their last journey. In Derris Kharlan, the key Lloyd held that swept the rest of them away like jacks; it was the challenge laid by Mithos in his vain attempt to shut out the world. In doing so, Mithos had also trapped the intruders within their worst fears. Zelos couldn't forget the uncanny, robotic expressions of a fake Seles trying to convince him his life was worthless. Although he'd defeated a corporeal manifestation of his nightmare that day, earning him a small, gold half of a spider token, the fact that he'd been sucked into Mithos's trap at all revealed just how powerless he'd been.

Then, the black space filled itself in, pulsing a bright red light around him and revealing two petrified figures. They looked just like Sheena and Raine… Raine? If this was another test of will, why would Raine be there as well? He still couldn't reach out to them and they certainly couldn't respond, either. He couldn't tell from the landscape whether or not they'd actually been transported anywhere.

This wasn't so bad at all. It was nothing as trying as the Derris Emblem. That was like running a marathon. Granted, if he had to stand here for more than a few hours, he'd likely go insane in his conscious. But Emil wouldn't let that happen. Right? Emil and Marta couldn't possibly have been turned to stone, because they weren't in Welgaia that day some years ago. They were smart enough to figure this out, right?

Suddenly, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a teenage girl and a raging Summon Spirit didn't sound like such a good idea. Zelos wondered if Raine and Sheena were thinking the same thing.

Well. If he was going to be there for a while, restricted to the entertainment in his head, he was going to have to find something to think about other than how agonizing it was to be looking at Sheena and knowing that she was stuck facing the other way. What if it were an eternity spent here in stone form while Marta perished and Emil returned to being a Ratatosk core while Tenebrae wasn't paying attention?

 _No. Mental math time_ , Zelos forced.  _First, add up everyone's ages. 14 plus 16, 30, plus 16, 46, plus 18, 64, plus 19, 83, plus―does Presea's age count for 30, or for 14?_

_Would Mithos count for 14 or 4,014? I wonder if he built Welgaia after seeing this dreary place._

Zelos went back to putting numbers together, but his mind wandered unbidden to memories of Mithos. While his Cruxis edification involved a lot about the establishment of the Church of Cruxis, it had nothing to do with the details of the inspiration. Before Mithos had decided to build his lair on Derris Kharlan, had he traveled to this very place? Yuan, and Kratos, especially, would never speak of the days before Martel's sickness. It seemed unfair that Richter and Aster had more education on finding the Ginnungagap than Zelos, the golden boy of Cruxis, had.

In fact, he still had no idea where they were within the Ginnungagap. How far back was the door to Niflheim? And how long had this trap been here?

Then, a creeping sensation of warmth hit his shoulder and spread down through his arm and across his back, and up across the nape of his neck. The white light came back, and he blinked his eyes to find the scenery hadn't changed. Oh, aside from the fact that he could blink his eyes.

Emil walked past him and quickly placed his palm on Sheena's forearm and Raine's hand. Both women were slowly drained of their petrified pallor. Now that Zelos could, he turned his neck to see his companions awakening as well.

"Man, I can finally move," he remarked, settling back into his muscles.

"You were conscious?!" Lloyd exclaimed. He rushed over from where he'd been standing, next to Marta and Tenebrae.

"Wh… How long were we out, Bud?"

"It was like I was in a straitjacket for eternity," Presea muttered.

"Everyone I could see was petrified, so I assumed you would be, too," Colette told Lloyd.

Emil's shoulders drooped. "I'm sorry, everyone, this was my fault."

"Not at all," Raine said. "You couldn't have foreseen this. But it looks like everyone's all right now."

"Yes. We should move quickly," Tenebrae noted.

Sheena took a step toward Zelos. "What did we miss?" she asked Tenebrae meekly.

Emil looked to Tenebrae, then to Marta, then back to the platform at his feet.

"We didn't want to," Marta said softly, "but we had to kill Alice and Decus. They weren't going to hurt my Emil."

The thick silence that followed revealed a swooping, buzzing sound emanating from the environment around the group. It was not unlike the sound of a machine run by Exspheres.

Alice and Decus, huh? Zelos couldn't say he liked them, since Alice was a gigantic bitch to Seles and Decus was the one who got Lloyd in such trouble in the first place. But they were so young. What could they have accomplished had they spent time atoning for their wrongdoings? Who could they have been without the overwhelming national divide? And all the bigotry, and all the racism, and all the pacts, and on, and on. They hadn't stood a chance.

Marta reached out for Emil's face, where a small welt had risen. Colette gave a small whimper.

"Unfortunate," Regal said.

"But they could have chosen a different path," Genis added.

"I feel the spirits howling. May I request a moment of silence?" Presea asked. The buzzing sound cut through the empty space.

After a little, Lloyd looked over to Presea and she nodded her head. "All right."

"Let's go. It's time to kick some ass," Sheena said. Zelos had to hold back a laugh at how incredibly strange it sounded following what was close to a funeral for two wayward kids. His attempt didn't go unnoticed. "What?"

"Ah, nothing. You're just starting to sound like me," Zelos gloated. He tugged on one of the loops in her obi.

"Yeah, right. I'm nowhere near as bad as you." She swatted his hand and kept a coy distance.

Lloyd, who had been giving orders to Genis and the rest, suddenly turned to the pair. "You could say  _that_  again!" he joked. Zelos was still shocked at how Lloyd could go from stone-faced to jolly these days.

"Pipe down over there!" Zelos barked in response.

"Don't worry, Lloyd. That Idiot Chosen's just upset that he's not getting attention," Genis said offhandedly. Marta giggled, and Emil looked like he'd been caught in the headlights of a Rheaird. Zelos tch'ed the half-elf and rolled his eyes. He'd say it wasn't true, but what with all the attention being on dead or soon-to-be-dead kids and/or Summon Spirits, Genis had a point.

Everyone began to follow Lloyd and Tenebrae down a winding bridge, where the light fog from before deepened, and the red runes on the platforms they walked burned magenta. Suddenly, Presea held out her axe to the side, signaling that the group should stop. Her detector for ill tidings never swayed; but she allowed Tenebrae, Emil, and Marta to pass.

A white spirit appeared before them and hovered just in front of the portal to the next area. Tenebrae seemed to recognize it. "Centurion Aqua!"

The spirit, which must have been called Aqua, did not open its mouth, but Zelos could hear its voice crying out to Tenebrae. It seemed to be a female, and it seemed to be barring the door.

"Is that spirit another one of Tenebrae's kind?" Regal asked Raine.

"Hm… I suppose it could be a Centurion called Aqua after all," Raine mused. "Yes, I believe so. But I can't translate what it's saying."

Zelos turned to Raine. "That's nuts. You really can't hear that, Prof?"

"Oh, I hear it," she replied, "I just can't translate its language. I've never heard it before."

Zelos shook his head. "No, no, it's no different…"

"You must be having a different experience than we are," Regal said.

Zelos impulsively scanned Colette to see if they'd been sharing some sort of Chosen-y moment, but the girl seemed engrossed in the scene as she stood next to Lloyd, wide-eyed.

"It would not surprise me if there were some way Zelos and Colette could understand the conversation, given that their Cruxis Crystals are packed with many souls akin to Martel's mana signature," Raine concluded.

"Only one way to find out," Zelos said. He skidded down a steep angle before stopping himself behind Presea.

" _I want to help Master Richter avenge his friend!"_

Yes, it was clearer than the bell in Meltokio's Church of Martel. The Centurion was speaking to Tenebrae and Emil. Zelos was rapt to listen―just what had Richter been up to down here, anyway? And what would he be like once they got to him?

The Centurion continued, " _Master Richter and Aster first learned about Lord Ratatosk through their research of Summon Spirits. They found me and told me to advise Lord Ratatosk about the Centurions' losing control. I brought them here, to the door just beyond this seal. But Lord Ratatosk simply refused to what Master Richter and Aster had to say, and instead lashed out at them because of his hatred of mankind. Aster… When Master Richter survived the ordeal, he searched for the power to bring his partner back to life. The power of the demons. Master Richter will open the door leading to Niflheim._ "

No wonder Richter had been crazy about collecting rosemary when he ran into Zelos the second time. Rosemary was an herb symbolizing unrequited love. That meant―!

Richter wanted to make the ultimate sacrifice so that his beloved would live.

Sounded romantic and all. It would probably be the most loving thing anyone in the world had ever done, aside from trying to save their sister from perishing by turning her into a false goddess. Zelos wasn't the type to crush others' hopes and dreams, but in this case, Richter was about to crush everyone's  _everything_. Opening the door to Niflheim would mean the demons' flowing out and devouring the planet. Just when they'd made it nice and unified, too. This would have been the only time Zelos would have been happy to see Mithos, and that was based solely on the fact that while Mithos was incredibly thick for thinking he could resurrect his sister, at least he was smarter at going about it than Richter.

And Richter had created a dual-motive collective of minions, too, but it wasn't nearly as lasting or influential as the entire cult of Martel. It dissolved too quickly for Richter's master plan to have been well-planned. And the world was  _not_  going to end because of one half-elf's insipid idea of  _l'amour_. (Again.)

Zelos wanted to say something, but realized his brain couldn't process how to get through in the strange Centurion's language. He tried to think up a way to translate what he meant. He held the words in the front of his mind: " _Are you serious_?" When the Centurion didn't respond, he tried to change the order. " _Serious-are-you_?" " _Serious, you_?" He was overwhelmed by how frustrating it was to think something without saying it. Eventually he tried his combinations again while settling into his hip, one hand on the sheath of his sword.

That must have been the key. The Centurion shook with rage directed right at him. " _You are the ones who are wrong! Lord Ratatosk ordered us to annihilate mankind. Do you think helping him would be to your benefit? He even had the gall to take the form of Aster when appearing before Master Richter. He, the one responsible for Aster's death! No one is going to make Master Richter suffer any more. I won't hesitate to kill Lord Ratatosk himself!_ "

Without warning, a hydra morphed into the space surrounding the Centurion and enveloped her.

Zelos sprinted up to the rest of the group. "Quick! She's gonna try to kill Ratatosk!" He didn't stop to explain before hopping his way back down and dashing to the front line.

Behind him, Marta and Colette had already begun casting spells. He had to trust that he'd dodge them by chance; he was going in toward an unguarded opening on the beast's left flank. Infusing his sword with light elemental and all the rage he had for Richter's pity party, he thrust upward under a scale. Greenish slime covered the blade, but the beast didn't flinch. In fact, the hydra didn't hesitate when it swooped a head of horns to where Zelos was lunging and knocked him into the air.

"Holy Song!" Colette cried. Her cast crashed around the party, and Zelos was able to flip back and break his fall with a burst from his wings. He stood, readjusted his stance, and prepared to run again.

But his leg wouldn't budge. Was it poisoning? He glanced down. No―it was a spell card around his calf.

"Zelos! You can't just rush in there," Sheena shrieked at him. She was preparing another set of cards.

"And why the hell can't I? I'm no good stuck here!" he called back. The battle continued, and the hydra smashed its heads on the ground, flipping Lloyd over and causing Emil to run back along the edge of the platform.

"You can't just dive in there without thinking, either!"

"Sheena!" Zelos worked to rip the card off his pant leg. "You have to trust me! If we don't kill this thing, Richter's―!" Lloyd had stumbled back into Zelos, who caught him by the strap on his back.

Zelos stopped to spot-check Lloyd for injuries, but Lloyd punched his chest. "Get in there! You've got this round!"

Before he could look to Sheena for approval, Zelos found himself being slingshotted by Lloyd's arm back into battle. The hydra had turned its backside and fin toward him, making it really easy for him to run up the fin and onto the tail itself. He quickly broke off two scales and stabbed them into the beast's back, which made for an easier hold while the thing thrashed around in pain.

Genis's thunderbolt cast fried the air. While the beast was distracted, Zelos took a stab at the tail. Then another slash along the spine. Then, he hoisted himself up higher to try and get to the thickest part of its body was, but the hydra spun and knocked Zelos off again.

Lloyd was already running along the sidelines near the beast's right side.

"Tag!" Zelos shouted toward Lloyd.

But the swordsman was mid-Double Demon Fang, and the resulting green globs of blood flying toward him probably distracted him from hearing the request. Meanwhile, the Chosen jogged to the far corner of the battlefield. It seemed that Presea and Regal were taking on one head each for distraction, and Raine had already set about healing Marta, who received quite a gash from the aftershock of the head-smashing.

"Zelos, here!" Sheena shouted. Zelos turned his head just in time to catch a small gel that she'd thrown his way.

He was startled that it was lemon-strength, but even more startled to find that his gloves were soaked on the sides with blood from the sharp scales. He popped the gel in his mouth and forced it down whole. "Thanks, babe!"

"Thank me later!"

Sheena flew forward and swiped a Purgatory Seal on the hydra's fin as it doubled back around. When its head took a tilt toward her, she gracefully backflipped and landed on her feet. Zelos had to admire how she could do that with the smallest preparation when it took him ages to get back up on his feet when he only had sliced arms.

Lloyd stepped in front of the hydra, which roared as he held both swords out to the side like a crucifix. That was the signal.

"FALL IN!"

Without question, the Regeneration group sprung into action in their familiar pattern. Raine and Genis took opposite sides of the field, casting. Regal went for the beast's webbed feet. Colette flew into the air and distracted the heads with her shining wings, careful to keep her distance. Sheena would duck in every now and again to place a seal, then dart away to watch its effects and set the next one. Lloyd, Presea, and Zelos were all assigned to their various blades, although if Genis was casting a particularly lengthy spell, Zelos would hop out and try to match the timing and double the power of the damage. Marta served as a decoy, running around the edges of the field when Colette was no longer interesting to the Beast.

All the while, Emil had been slowly sneaking behind the hydra and waiting for the right moment to strike. But instead of taking out its back, as intended by Lloyd, the boy crawled underneath the enemy's belly and shot his sword straight up into it. He muscled into his sword and ripped a gaping hole where the Centurion had melted into the hydra's body. The hydra screeched and struggled, and finally slumped to the ground. When its figure dissolved into the air, the Centurion was trembling on her knees.

Zelos wiped his bloodied sword on the tail of his surcoat and sheathed it. His gloves were still damp with blood, but it seemed like the wound itself had healed. Though the lemon gel was potent, having the real Cruxis Crystal on him in battle always sped up the healing process.

Colette landed beside him gently while the Centurion conveyed something like shame. "It's almost time," she said.

"Pity the next battle's gonna be the last one we use these suckers," Zelos replied, gesturing to his Cruxis Crystal. When he looked down, the jewel rose and fell as he breathed, but didn't sparkle.

"Not too loud. I didn't tell the others," Colette whispered.

Centurion Aqua transformed into her core form, a slight, glowing, blue rosebud held in Emil's hand. But instead of lobbing it into the air and making a pact, Emil just stared at it.

"Aren't you going to make a pact with her?" Marta asked. Her words echoed in the vast void of the air.

"I think it would be cruel to hatch her and form a pact with her right now. After all, she loved Richter," Emil reasoned. Marta held his hands in hers briefly, and took the core for safe keeping.

After a silence, Tenebrae said, "I must admit, wasn't aware that Centurions  _could_  love. However, just as cores may affect the hearts of people, a strong will may also affect the cores."

Zelos looked to Colette, then Lloyd; he would have spoken, except Emil was already taking the chance.

"I guess Richter's will was a lot more powerful than anyone imagined."

"But, you know, sometimes people's emotions affect you even when you don't realize it," Marta said. "So we all have to try and spread positive energy while we're at the door to Niflheim, right?"

Tenebrae nodded and looked to the group. "Indeed, the door to Niflheim is just up ahead. If everyone's affairs are in order, we should hasten to it."

Colette gave a steady look at Lloyd and responded, "I think me and Lloyd are ready."

"Wait, I've got a cut on my forehead. Raine?" Presea asked. The Professor healed Presea's scrape as well as a few other bruises.

Sheena shook out her bangs, which were wet with sweat from running for much of the fight. Zelos recalled her previous request. "Hey," he called to her, "I'm thanking-you-later."

She scrunched her eyebrows. "I didn't mean it literally! It was the least I could do."

"But it would have sucked if they had to amputate my arms up top," Zelos joked, looking to the space above as though it were the atmosphere of the world. He reached out and displayed his hand for her to take it.

She did, but hesitantly. "What's with you being so sentimental? We're gonna get through this just fine. We're the best team."

Was he acting that sentimental?

"You know, Colette and―"

"Ready to go?" Lloyd asked them. It looked like everyone else was prepared to cross the threshold between this area and the door. Zelos and Sheena followed, trailing behind.

When Richter's back appeared before them through a mustardy haze and blindingly orange fusiform columns, Zelos clutched Sheena's hand.

"I'm going to do it, you know," he uttered quietly. "On the other side of this battle, Colette and I are getting rid of our Crystals."

But Sheena's response wasn't anger or confusion, perhaps because there was little time for such things. She just caught his seeking glance and said, "I understand."

"So don't do anything stupid, 'kay? I need a good reason to get rid of this thing." Zelos sighed and used his free hand to brush his hair behind him.

It was almost too soft to hear: "I love you too, you idiot."

" _What_?"

Zelos saw the edge of Sheena's troubled face before she wrenched her hand free and turned away. "Y-you're an idiot―so―so don't you do anything stupid, either. Come on, we're wasting time!"

No, but―what did she just say? It was like her to try and say something meaningful, but storm away embarrassed at her own emotions. But this wasn't the time. Zelos caught up to Emil and Lloyd, standing just beside them. He knew Sheena would be nearby, too, trying to cover her reddened face with a combative sneer at the enemy.

Richter turned.

"Richter," Emil addressed.

"You're too late, Em― _Ratatosk_. You see, I have already summoned more demons."

"Aqua already told us everything."

Richter balanced himself and turned up his nose. " _Did_  she."

"I understand that losing your friend was agonizing for you, even heart-breaking. But turning the entire world into Niflheim just to resurrect one single person, one single life, is not right!" Emil choked. "Do you really think that Aster would be happy to come back to a world ruled completely by demons?"

Richter clenched his fists tight in their leather gloves and a wave of flame engulfed him. "You dare condescend a plan you do not comprehend? You, who wears Aster's face? You, who murdered Aster in cold blood―!" The fire rose around him and flourished ever higher. It seemed that the flame was not burning him, but rather transforming him into a demon-facaded version of the human he was before he began to make pacts with the underworld.

Zelos almost jumped at the sound of Emil's sword clanking out of its sheath.

"Very well. I'll just stop you by force!"

Emil floundered, sword-first, over to Richter, but Lloyd didn't follow and made the rest wait. At least, until the first draw on Richter's part.

The two spirits shouted wordlessly at each other but maintained eye contact through each part of their choreography. Surely the rest of them were missing out on what was said, but if it had anything to do with Richter's one-sided heartbreak, Zelos could understand why it was kept secret. Their personal battle continued for some time before Richter appeared to concede, stepping back from Emil.

"I won't be distracted by your appearance any longer!" Richter growled, finally aloud. He threw down a red casting circle, the sign for impending hellfire. Now that the odds were against Emil, it would be wise to intervene.

"Scatter!" Lloyd instructed.

Zelos, still winded from the last battle, honed in on Richter with sprinting speed. Perhaps a distraction would allow Emil time to get far enough away.

"The pain will only last an instant!" Richter yelled.

It was too late. Zelos lunged at Richter, but the demon was slicing Emil's chest and before long, the kid―certainly no Summon Spirit in his moments of weakness―fell to his knees. Richter raised his sword upward as a power surged through him.

Nearby, Lloyd kicked himself into the air for a Rising Falcon attack, and ended up catching Richter between the maws of his blades, distracting the spell. Marta and Raine fled to Emil and armed him with a few gels, but soon retreated to attempt their own casts. But now Richter was focused on Lloyd. They exchanged a few blows of metal on metal until Zelos could wedge himself in and go for the demon's weak points. Lloyd was freed, and running toward the blurry members of the team for backup.

Richter suddenly paused his attacks to laugh, though Genis's Prism Sword was primed to strike overhead. "You think you can handle me, pathetic Chosen?"

_Don't let him get in your head._

"Shut up! I can't stand people like you who think they're some tragic figure who's entitled to a private pity party!" Zelos shouted in Richter's nearly unrecognizable face.

"Be gone!" Richter slashed his sword in the air with a gust of scorching wind. That sent Zelos flying backward yet again, and the both of them rolled to dodge Genis's attack completely.

Beside him, fleeting footsteps rushed in. Presea hacked, axe-user to axe-user, where she knew she'd make Richter stay in one place. Emil was back, making quick passes and wounding where he could.

The bouncing pink ribbons caught Zelos's eye from the left, and Sheena was throwing a couple of seals Richter's way. But the seal burst into flames when it got close to Richter's body, and the flames jumped onto her hands.

"What?!" Sheena cried. She batted her arms against her sides to put out the fire.

"HYPOCRITES!" Richter howled back. He locked eyes with Zelos, then smacked Sheena back with the butt of his sword. When she slumped, he made sure to give her back a good slash to send her all the way to the ground. She was splayed out on her front, her head to one side and purple robe stained dark in a neat slash.

"Sheena!" Zelos called, running to her. He began a healing cast as fast as his words could manage, but it was hard to concentrate. The slice on her back―that was right where Richter had gotten him the first time he let his guard down. But who would have known about the seals? They'd never burned before.

While the magic circle worked through Sheena's body, Zelos looked up at the other fighters. They seemed to be fighting with renewed vigor after Sheena went down, and even Colette was hurling her discs into the utmost fray. But there was one oddity.

Richter was able to counter the attacks that aimed at his front, but currently nobody was behind him. In fact, he'd stayed backing the edge of the platform the entire time. And then Zelos knew. No wonder Richter was so intent on actually stabbing people in the back. His weakness was behind him; what a very romantic notion, especially in the realm of demonic evil.

Sheena lifted herself to her knees and checked her split and smoldering clothing. "I can't believe he's so powerful!"

While it would have been nice to stay and get a thank-you for his troubles, Zelos had to get to Colette.

"COLETTE! Fly behind him and push him into the middle!" he shouted. Whether or not Richter heard was unimportant. The game was on, and he knew the secret to defeating the demon for good.

Colette's pinkish purple wings soared her high over the platform, then back around to Richter, where she had the sense to push him with not her knuckles, but the sharp sides of her battle discs. Richter stumbled forward.

"EMIL, HIS BACK!" Zelos directed again. He stayed just far enough out of range that he didn't feel guilty for not being in on the maneuver himself. But it was not his job to kill Richter.

"AIN! SOPH! AUR!" And, Emil barrel-jumped and stuck his sword down into Richter's ribcage with enough magical infusion to break bone. Richter was down.

The group waited tensely for a moment to see if any more spells were conjured in clouds above them, but they didn't appear. So Emil―Ratatosk, now―activated the cores in the door beyond.

Suddenly, a sickening punch tore at the translucent door. It was a fist of black, a terrifying accumulation tick-tocking at the door and threatening to break it down.

Tenebrae edged up to Lloyd and squinted in the direction of the awful sound. "The demons are trying to open the door with all their power!"

Richter, kneeling over his sword in defeat, lifted his left hand to reach into the back pocket of his belt. His fingers caught on the closure but, fumbling, he raised a radiating block of stone; his swollen eyes were steadfast. "Here, use this."

"What the―That's the Sacred Stone!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"That's right. The stone that turns the mana in your body into flames," Richter replied. It made sense now, why his blazing strikes seemed not to burn him in any way. "Mana is a toxic poison to demons. It will help keep the door closed for a while."

"But… why do you have it?"

Richter sniffed a breath from his nose. "I sent someone out to the hidden village of the elves to get it for me. If you use it along with the Cruxis Crystal held by the Chosen, it's possible to seal this door without Ratatosk's being present."

Zelos's eyes darted to Lloyd. Aside from everyone in the Regeneration group, Kratos included, there was only one being still on the earth that would have known about Heimdall's location. Given that nobody in the realm currently would have stood for Richter's mad quest, it  _had_  to have been Yuan.

Yuan knew all along what Richter was trying to accomplish―!

Zelos should really have seen this coming. The way Yuan threw Lloyd off to nab the cores away from the Vanguard before Emil got there. Well, Ratatosk, really. Was there a reason for Yuan to antagonize Ratatosk? Was there some bitterness in his heart from when Martel chose to become a Summon Spirit instead of dying her mortal death underneath the old tree? It didn't make sense for Zelos not to cooperate by giving his Cruxis Crystal to Richter to seal the door. Though, that would mean that there was no strict need for using it...

Unless.

Unless Yuan was telling Zelos to wait in case Richter really wasn't just trying to seal the door on his own. That in turn would mean that Richter might have been deceiving the demons into believing they'd be free, especially if he'd had the materials to close the door himself; and spare Ratatosk, or Emil, or Aster's body, the devastation of doing so.

He saw now. This was the "sacrifice." Richter wasn't going to sacrifice the world for Aster's life; he was going to sacrifice his life for Aster's world. If Lloyd would just let Richter go through with his tragedy, there would be no reason to be alarmed by Ratatosk's lack of presence.

"… The Chosen's Cruxis Crystal has the ability to stop its host's internal clock and grant them eternal life," Lloyd added after a pause.

Of course Lloyd would know.

"You were willing to burn your  _own_  body's mana for all eternity and become a human sacrifice in order to guard this door?" Zelos challenged.

"Yes, because that way, Aster could come back to life, Ratatosk could die, and the door would be protected. The world would be saved," Richter explained. His voice was thready as he squinted through a hard blink. "But in the end, I wasn't… able to defeat Ratatosk."

Zelos was overwhelmed with empathy for the devil. Had Zelos been in that position, he, too, may have deceived everyone until the bitter end. But that was no longer his place. He wasn't a traitor or a sacrifice. He sure as hell wouldn't have created the Vanguard as a front for his operation, although he might have used it, like the Renegades. Maybe Richter had it harder than all of them for choosing to keep all those secrets within his admirable shell of self-loathing.

The demons of Niflheim continued to batter the door in a cloud of black smoke, only it was a quieter thud.

Emil began to laugh the laugh that wasn't his. Marta approached him like a curious child. He grabbed her by the throat with one strong fist. Colette began to shake.

"Now nothing can stand in my way. Once I bind Aqua to my will, I will regain all of my power! HAND OVER AQUA'S CORE!" Emil bellowed. No; that was Ratatosk.

"I can't breathe! Emil!" Marta squawked, grasping at his arm.

"I said, hand it over!"

Marta began to go limp in Emil's grasp, but Richter slammed his feet into the ground and rammed into Emil with the remainder of his strength. Lloyd caught Marta as she fell.

"E-Emil! Why are you doing this?!" the girl choked.

Emil angrily slashed his sword at Lloyd, but Lloyd was quick to block him and push him back. Emil suddenly dropped the sword to the ground and appeared to be struggling with his own arm.

"It seems… Verius's protection… can't stop Ratatosk," Emil whimpered. Then, he turned on himself. "WHY WON'T YOU STOP INTERFERING?!" He shifted back, struggling again. "Help me, Marta! Please! You've got to turn me into a core and use me to seal the door."

Why wasn't Richter doing anything? Even so injured, couldn't he try to use the Sacred Stone to slow down the madness inside Emil?

"I… I will fight you, Lord Ratatosk!" Marta decided. "I'll fight you for Emil, and I will defeat you!"

Marta activated her spinner and begrudgingly went into battle with Lloyd as her support. Genis turned to Regal expectantly.

"Aren't we gonna go help?"

"It's not our place to intervene," Regal said.

"'Sides," Zelos added, "Lloyd's got it covered. I feel like the protection of Martel goes a long way."

Indeed, it didn't take long for Ratatosk to fall to his hands and emerge looking up through Emil's green eyes.

It was then that Marta knelt and offered Aqua's core. "I understand now. You really are Emil," she said gently.

Sheena repositioned herself and looked at Presea; perhaps another unnatural presence was making itself known.

"Emil… is that true?" Lloyd asked hesitantly. Colette had wandered over next to Lloyd and the two looked quite comfortable in the limelight.

"I'm so ashamed… I asked Verius to drown out Ratatosk. It's the same thing as killing him! I have no right to live a life of peace after what I've done," Emil muttered.

Marta reached out as though to embrace him, but quickly slapped her hand across his face hard and pounded on his chest. "You idiot!" she shouted. "You're such a stupid idiot! What are you thinking?! Is this what you meant when you'd figure something out? I thought that you… you'd accepted Ratatosk as a part of yourself."

"There's nothing to accept. Don't you understand? Once Ratatosk is sealed away, his being will be gone as well…"

"Then you have to find a way to merge yourselves!"

"But… once I combine our personalities, I could forget everything and set out to destroy mankind!"

Marta lifted her head. "I trust you, Emil. I trust both you and Ratatosk."

"She's right," Lloyd offered.

Zelos saw it now. Emil was trying to avoid total sacrifice by becoming a martyr instead. "Kid, what you were trying to do, have your own friends kill you, would only cause the people you care about the most to be in pain," Zelos said. He gave a swift look at Colette; Guilt of Martel.

Emil rose to his feet and swept his eyes across the whole group. "Thank you." He then closed his eyes to have a private reconciliation with Ratatosk.

Marta heaved out a sigh. The wait was a bit lengthy, but nobody, not even Richter, would wake Emil from his internal battle. When it was finally concluded, Emil opened his reddened eyes and accepted Aqua's core as the rest of the cores began to shine yet brighter.

"Don't worry, I won't annihilate mankind. However, I can't fully guard the door by myself," Ratatosk-Emil said to Marta. The ancient seal on the door appears to no longer be working since another being forced it open."

Richter stepped forward. "That would be my fault," he owned. "It looks like I'll go ahead with my original plan to use my own mana to seal the door."

"I'd be willing to assist you," Ratatosk-Emil negotiated.

"… What?"

"Yes. I will rewrite the natural law of the world as you guard the door. It will lessen your suffering as well."

Marta shared a confused look with Colette. "What exactly do you mean by, 'rewrite?'" Marta asked.

"Mana didn't originally exist in this world," Ratatosk-Emil began. Zelos felt a burning sensation on his chest, near the key crest. "The arrival of the planet Derris Kharlan and me, and the transfer of the Giant Kharlan Tree into this world resulted in mana creating life. So I will take mana from everything that comprises this world and use it as a seal… for the Ginnungagap."

Genis panicked. "But―but you can't! If you do that, the land will die! Mana is the source of everything, all life!"

"No, it won't. Not if I rewrite the law of this world. All life that flourishes on this land will no longer require mana to live. Humans, elves, every object."

"Summon Spirits, too?" Sheena asked hopefully.

Ratatosk-Emil frowned. "No. Summon Spirits are kept alive by the presence of mana. After all, we Summon Spirits are not native to this world."

They'd originated on Derris Kharlan, Zelos knew. That was one of his first lessons with Cruxis. Summon Spirits could only rule this earth because they were not tied to it, which is why Mithos Yggdrasill would ultimately need their aid.

"What happens to the Summon Spirits… when mana goes away?"

"The mana won't go away. I will simply guide it out of beings into the seal."

Sheena was still unsettled. Zelos stepped forward to be at her side before asking, "What changes, exactly, will come about to our world?"

"Once it's cut off from the protection of mana, the world will eventually decline and die. However, it will live out its natural lifespan and return to what it was meant to be. It may be billions of unfathomable years from now, but even I do not know for sure," Ratatosk-Emil explained. "Now, all of you need to go. I'm going to seal this space once and for all, so no one else ever approaches this door again."

Zelos motioned to Colette, who followed without question while Sheena looked on. They approached Richter.

"Chosen Ones… I apologize for my impudence. You could not have possibly known," the man said, his words breaking him.

"Just so you know, it didn't have to end this way. But don't beat yourself up about it," Zelos said. He winked as he stared Richter down, then took his hand and shook it briefly. "You've got courage, friend. Good luck with the door."

Colette took Richter's other hand, crossing their arms in a bizarre three-way handshake. "Mister Richter? I think that… to have that kind of love, deep down, you must have a big heart. I believe you're making the right choice to help the world."

Richter closed his eyes and thanked them solemnly. But when each of their hands left his, he felt the weight of something causing him to close his fists. Tucked safely in his gloved hands were both of the Chosens' Cruxis Crystals.

Zelos looked back just once to bask in the confusion of Richter's countenance. Then he approached Sheena to take her hand and walked toward Ratatosk-Emil. Richter knew, and it seemed that nobody else quite understood his and Colette's hiccup of a moment with him.

Patting Emil's back like a proud parent, Zelos said, "Goodbye, Emil. You got guts. And thanks for saving my sister." Emil stared right at Zelos's key crest, where during the final battle, Zelos had replaced his Cruxis Crystal with the fake one Seles had been keeping. The Summon Spirit boy didn't seem to notice the difference.

Sheena took Zelos's lead and presented her own farewell as they passed by, hand-in-hand. "I won't ever forget your kindness, Emil. You'd better take care of yourself, all right?" When Emil nodded, she gave a small, final wave and walked back with Zelos far, far away from the gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Richter gave a crushed laugh. "I can't believe… that now, even though I have the strength of two Cruxis Crystals, neither one seems to be working."_

_The Summon Spirit across from him smiled sadly. "Yes. I know. I asked for their power to be revoked long ago, when I first called upon Verius. It would have been cruel to know that any of my companions would have to live forever. Luckily for you, it also reduces your suffering to one thousand years. And, I suppose, that would make up for only about one-quarter of all the suffering brought on by those Cruxis Crystals themselves. But mana to mana, the cycle must go. Allow me to leave you to your work."_

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"It's so romantic!"

Marta continued to squeal a high-pitch frequency commonly known only among large whales.

"It's not  _that_  romantic, when you think about it. I mean, I'm kind of creeped out a little. After all, he said Aster's name and I'm trying to live my life as a different person entirely…"

Emil was standing among the throng of travelers, just inside the gate to Altamira. Once the group had tromped into town and finally burst into tears, acceptance, or regret at Emil's decision to remain at the Ginnungagap, they turned around to realize what they thought had been a stress-ghost was actually Emil, in the flesh, separated from Ratatosk after all. They begged and pressed him for details as to how he escaped, and Marta switched between utter rage, joy, and confusion at all of the information. When the girl had finally run out of hot air, the group decided to rest on their laurels in the returning heat of the September sun.

Regal, at Zelos's begging and whining (and bribery), decided to put a no-holds-barred helluva celebration on the next day, inviting his entire company and everyone's extended family members. That included Brute, who was allowed to spend time with his daughter before being carted off to Meltokio Prison. Regal even proposed to the King that the day they'd sealed Niflheim become a holiday in the years to come, but the committee was still working on what to do without a Chosen.

But the "Chosen" of Tethe'alla was busy planning other things, as usual.

The sun was setting on the grand feast, now lighted by dozens of parked parade vehicles lining the blocks behind the Resort. Once the stars began to pop up in the night sky, Zelos found Sheena carousing with Colette.

"Hey, my voluptuous hunny," he purred, putting his hands on Sheena's shoulders as he caught her from behind.

"Oh! Zelos! You're just in time," Colette said cheerfully. "We were just talking about… that one thing!" She gave Zelos an effortful wink.

"I don't like it when you guys wink at people," Sheena laughed nervously.

"Well, I must apologize, my dear Colette. I must steal your friend away from you, for we have much to see!" Zelos chuckled.

Colette waved her hand. "Go right ahead, Zelos!"

"What in the world―" Before Sheena could protest, Colette had strolled off into the crowd, and Zelos was turning her in place.

"Just trust me. Come on!" He grabbed her hand and dashed to the shoreline, where the dimness of the new moon made the landscape chilled and invisible. When Sheena looked behind her, all the parade lights had gone out, although there was still a dull hum of chatter from the celebrating crowd.

"If you're trying to sneak away to fool around, I already told you, this isn't a good idea!" Sheena protested. "I don't want sand everywhere…"

Zelos sighed. "Just give it a minute." He moved her by her shoulders to face in the vague direction of the amusement park.

Another moment passed silently before Sheena complained under her breath, "It's pretty cold out here at night…"

SHHHhhhhhhhhhhhzzzzzzzzzzzzBOOM!

Both their eyes followed the sudden spray of lights in the sky. This one bloomed bright green. Zelos pointed to it excitedly.

"There! There! See it?"

"F-fireworks?"

Just as the green one crackled and fell to the sea, another pair of lights burst into the night sky, smoke trailing behind them. White with star patterns.

"This couldn't be… This isn't―" Sheena began.

"Ah, but it is!" Zelos said, shifting behind her and sneaking his arms around her waist. She was so distracted that she couldn't bring herself to fight him. "Remember that light show you wanted to see? Back on the journey? It's not the whole parade, but we've got the old floats out, and at least there are  _some_  fireworks left…"

Sheena turned her head to look into his eyes, where the fireworks were clearly outlined. "Zelos… You didn't do all this, did you?"

He smirked. "Well, not by myself. Regal had to round up a couple employees and okay the operation, but… this part's for you." When she continued to stare at him with those big, dark eyes, he said, "Look! Watch 'em, why don't you?"

She looked back toward the display. Both watched in awe as the lights exploded with a rainbow of colors, in sprays of all shapes and grandeur. Zelos secretly hoped that everyone who had retired from the party was crowding around the windows to see the lights, as he'd paid a pretty penny to coordinate all of this while the world had much business elsewhere.

Actually, it wasn't a penny that paid for the lights. It was the ring that Mr. Penguin had given him in Flanoir, the one with the high carat count and the diamond. Regal wagered that it was worth almost the cost of the light show, despite the fact that it was edging into autumn now and the amusement park hadn't been open for a few weeks. Sentimental at heart, the duke couldn't say no to a selfless display of affection.

When the last one faded and fell, Sheena turned to Zelos again. "I can't believe you remembered," she whispered, astonished.

"Aw. I was hoping you'd give me a little more credit than that," he whined. When she reached up to kiss him, he held back. "Wait, that's not the whole present."

"This is supposed to be a present? What did I  _do_?"

"Well, you did break your promise of not running away from things, but you came back. So, in honor of that…" He reached into his right pocket and found what had been burning a hole there for weeks, now. Grabbing her left hand, which rested upon her stomach atop his left hand, he placed the thing on her third finger. "It's that thing you always wanted!"

Sheena wrestled her arm free and held it up to the star-scattered sky. She had to laugh: it was that stupid, cheap ring from the same journey as the one they'd been on when she'd mentioned the light show. Same green, plastic jewel and all.

"Oh, my god, you're an idiot," she chuckled.

He whispered in her ear. "Wanna go on another trip with me, a different one?"

Her heart jumped and she backed away from him, face more stone-serious than he'd seen it in a long time.

"I don't know. What… what would Mizuho say?"

Zelos breathed deeply. "I was worried about that." He searched her for a clue, but she was a fortress as always. "Look, I can't promise that it'll ever be what you expected, or wanted, but we could… agh, this sounds dumber than it did in my head…"

"I'm not saying no," Sheena interrupted, eyebrows uplifted. "I'm just… unprepared to… I wonder what the world would think."

He stepped backward a bit. "Is that really what you're thinking? Sheena, we made it this far being who we are. Can't you see? Nothing's dangerous anymore if I'm not the Chosen."

"Zelos…" She smiled, the glitter of tears once more in her eyes. "I'm… putting that on hold again. That's what I was doing when I was in Mizuho. I decided I wanted… something other than being the Chief right now. But Orochi says I'm still, y'know, welcome."

"You… what?" Zelos stumbled.

"I still have a lot of work to do as the Emissary of Peace, and they're gonna let me know the new location of Mizuho," she said sheepishly. "But… if I'm gonna have to build a new life anyway..." She held up her hand to the stars once more. "You are absolutely the stupidest, strangest, most wonderful choice I could ever make."

To stop her from doing anything silly, like crying, he held out his arms dramatically and wrenched his expression. "Will you be my number one hunny 'til the day I die?!" he exclaimed.

Sheena entered his embrace and held him tightly. "Only if there's no number two!" she sniffled, laughing. He dug his face into her hair in their curl around each other.

"But I do have to ask Grandpa," she added.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"Then, okay. Yes!" she yelped, pressing her lips to his face, all over. She tossed her head back and laughed up at the night sky in an absurdly uncharacteristic way. "I'm gonna have a lot of explaining to do…"

Zelos snapped back. "I  _know_! Can I tell Lloyd?"

Sheena blushed brightly. "What? No! Is that some sort of a sick joke?" She backhanded his arm, but lightly, since there was now a ring that might leave bruises.

"No, I'm serious! Can I tell Regal, then?"

"  _Why_?"

"'Cause I need to tell someone!" Zelos shouted.

"Can we please not spread this around until it's a sure thing? My culture, they'd kill me if they found out we were, y'know,  _together_  without being officially  _together_ , and that whole swallowing-a-thousand-needles thing..."

"Fine, fine… How about Colette?"

Sheena sighed. "All right, Colette. But not Marta. She'll tattle before we can even make plans."

Zelos took her by the waist as they walked up the stairs and back to the grand hotel. "… Seriously, can I tell Regal? He told me if you said yes he'll give me a discount on those fireworks."

"Zelos!"

"What? You think I'd waste my riches when we'll be planning a bigger party than this?" he said, grinning madly.

"At this rate, it'd better be. You call that a light show?" Sheena joked. She stopped him before they took the first step up the stone stairs, where the parade float lights had finally illuminated a path. "Wait. Give me one last one."

His heart soared as he kissed her sweetly. But they'd get back to celebrating Emil's return, and he'd have to save their adventure for another day.


	14. Epilogue: Chase This Light

" _Fountain, white runner, floral lace, musicians running late…_ "

Palmacosta was once again sunny and warm in mid-May, long before summer made the glint from the water unbearably hot. A man in a stiff collar used a small notepad to fan himself before setting it on his crossed leg.

" _As one knows, May is only appropriate for a marriage of youths. One wonders if any heroes of Regeneration could be considered youthful now_ ," he wrote. He paused to look at his surroundings, searching for a source of inspiration. After all, he was the most notorious writer for the tabloid section of the United World's most popular newspaper; people would expect nothing but superlative scrutiny.

" _Note: Chosen has decided not to shade the guests' chairs during the ceremony. Inconsiderate._..  _and seats are uncomfortable…_ "

"Excuse me."

The man looked up to see a girl in her teens, perhaps, standing beside him eagerly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I was hoping to take that seat next to you, there," she said.

The man rolled his eyes and moved his legs into the aisle as she scooted past. Another reason he hated weddings. His job required that he sit near to the front to capture every detail, but the sheer number of people that surrounded him distracted him beyond all reason. Normally, he would have sent out an intern from the office, but this would inevitably be the celebrity event of the year and anybody else would just mess it up. He sighed.

"Is that… a camera?" the girl inquired. She had settled in her seat, which had been the only empty one in that row.

"Of course."

Upon inspecting him more closely, the girl gasped. "You—You're Friedrich Callon!"

Callon sneered. "Feel free to keep it discreet. I'm sure the public expected me to be here today but this is a down-low operation."

"Oh. I guess so. That's kind of funny, I guess this is kind of a meeting of giants," the girl replied with a far-off look. She then looked to Callon, but the man was already back in his notebook, scrawling something. "I mean, that is, I'm the Co-Editor-in-Chief for the  _Palmacosta Beacon_. That's the, uh, big paper around here. Although I guess it's sort of incomparable to the  _world's_  biggest paper…"

Callon stared at her. "Do you have a name to go with that gauche title?"

"Chocolat Ridley. Pleasure to meet you," the girl said, offering her hand. Callon didn't take it.

"Yes. Where is your equipment?" Callon quizzed.

"I… um… I'm actually here with a personal invitation from the Chosen."

"— _Former_  Chosen, of course. Let's not forget how the world has changed."

"It sure has changed," Chocolat repeated. "I never actually thought I'd go to this wedding, y'know, considering how much I had a crush on the groom back in the day." When her comment was met with Callon's looking back at his notepad, she rushed to change the topic. "Ah-hah-hah, I mean, it's really inappropriate for me to talk about that, right? It was like a million years ago. What am I saying…"

Friedrich Callon scratched his head with the butt of the pen he carried.

"You would do well to note the surroundings regardless. We won't have a good story again until the Princess of Tethe'alla weds, and who knows how long that will take," he said.

Chocolat nodded. "Yeah, I always thought she'd marry the  _other_  Chosen. I didn't see it coming when he eloped with that other girl!"

Callon raised his eyebrows. "Clearly you hadn't read that issue of the  _New World Times_. Three years ago, we did a piece forecasting the scandal."

"Well, yeah, but nobody could have been at their ceremony anyway…"

"Thank Martel that Irving and the former Chosen of Sylvarant are deciding not to elope," Callon said. "Say, would you mind if I quoted you for my article? I think you're onto something with comparing the two Chosens' lifestyles."

"Well, sure, I guess, but just don't make me sound anything other than a Co-Editor-in-Chief," Chocolat agreed.

"Right, right." Callon began to write again: " _q. Chocolat Ridley of PB, had crush on Irving c. Regen…_ "

"Oh! It's starting!" Chocolat suddenly shouted. She pointed at the Church's front door, which opened briefly. A man with blue hair and an expensive-looking tuxedo held up a finger before closing the doors again.

"Hm. Suppose it shall take a little longer than we'd expected," the writer said. Almost as long as " _Irving and Chosen's engagement, 2 yr. between announcement and wedding…_ "

A pair of hands clapped a bar's worth of rhythm over the noise of the crowd. Callon raised his head for the source of the sound: a young woman sitting in a roped-off area. There was a man about her age across from her with a golden harp; he'd begun to strum a lively march. Now the woman picked up a cello and bow and joined the tune.

"That's pretty impressive. You know, Lady Seles has only been playing the cello for a couple years," Chocolat said quietly. Not that the music was soft, but without a hall to contain the spectators, the chitchat wouldn't be easily covered by the reverberations of the strings.

"Ah, is that true?" Callon feigned interest then snapped a couple photographs of the musicians. "I wonder how their effort has turned out with the Academy."

"Who, Lady Seles and Sir Laurentin?"

" _Yes_ , haven't you the slightest idea about the gossip?" Callon said, now casting a glance at the altar.

"Beg your pardon," Chocolat began. She leaned over to whisper. "I may be from Sylvarant, but I'm not simple. I know what folks have been saying about those two, but I didn't think it applied to the funding being implemented by Tethe'alla's Chosen for that music program."

Callon looked to the girl. "I do suppose that might come as a bit of a shock, Seles having been, until recently, not considered a citizen with the ability to participate in philanthropy. However, it's clear that Sir Wilder has been too busy to take these efforts on himself."

The doors to the church opened and out stumbled Emil Castagnier. Considering that it had been over three years since his triumphant return from the Ginnungagap, the boy had grown little. The only effects of time were a slightly more prominent jaw, and the etchings of worry above his eyes when someone surprised him (as they obviously had in opening that door). He nearly took a tumble down the stairs when he was joined by Marta Lualdi. Marta was surely more excited than Emil, the way she waved to the crowd with her miniature bouquet using the hand that wasn't steadying her escort.

"She put on some weight since the last I saw her," Callon said.

"I wouldn't really know. Last time I saw her she was really young—oh, look! That's Presea!" Chocolat pointed excitedly to a spiky-haired girl in a dress of a slightly darker hue of pink than Marta's.

Presea had grown much more obviously than Marta, gaining a couple of inches in height as well as more muscle in her arms. She'd always been strong, but without an Exsphere, it would be difficult to swing her axe around. She was much more refined and less lanky her escort, who was, of course, Genis Sage. Just a few years prior, Genis had been just as tall as Presea, but the years had caused him to sprout up quite a bit. He now dwarfed the girl and even his sister.

"Ah, yes, quite a nugget of news when young Master Sage debuted with that half-elf girl from the laboratory instead of Presea. We were all curious the night of that debutante ball…"

"You mean Geeta Ishkiya? She's sitting over there, you know," Chocolat advised, looking over her shoulder to confirm her statement. "I was sent to the grand reveal of Ozette and I met her there. She's up-and-coming, too! Another one of the scientists transferred to study ecology…"

"That does not necessarily coincide with news-worthy, however," Callon corrected.

Marta and Emil had made their way to the front of the setup, where they diverged to either side of the altar. The Governess-General Dorr greeted each with a smile and waited patiently as Presea and Genis processed. Meanwhile, Seles Wilder and her harpist companion changed their tune ever so slightly.

Suddenly, a female voice gasped and whimpered somewhere nearby, causing Friedrich Callon to roll his eyes. That was a sound preceding only one thing, of late: the presence of Tethe'alla's former Chosen, Zelos. He hated that he turned his head to acknowledge the Chosen's arrival at the back of the runner. It was pointless; there was nothing redeeming about the fact that, despite Callon's best efforts, Zelos had remained popular with the ladies. Even tied down as he was! Even after every biting article of critique Callon had put out to try and quash the man's popularity, nothing could stop citizens of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant alike from their obsession with the Chosen. What a pity; Callon aimed only to offer an olive branch when he wrote his reviews, attempting to calm the gossip that ever surrounded the Wilder family. It wasn't his fault if people read into it another way.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Chocolat sighed.

But as handsome as Zelos was in his black-and-white finery, Sheena was yet more stunning as she strode alongside him. Her dress was a much darker magenta and with a cutaway back. Despite all eyes being on her, she did not waver as she had when she'd first announced to the press that she was stepping down as Chief and stepping up as the wife of the former Chosen. She held her head high and kept her arm wrapped around Zelos's like she'd done it a million times before. And she probably had—there were still state affairs going on, what with his becoming involved with politics, and she'd need to appear civil and graceful in polite company. The papers of Meltokio called it contemptible that he'd married a foreigner at first but soon realized that it was pointless to taunt a man who had finally found peace. (Or so they thought, Chocolat mused, because to her memory Sheena had been a spitfire.)

Chocolat gave the pair a little wave as they passed by, earning her a wink and a smile from Zelos and Sheena respectively. When they had reached the Governess-General, Seles's cello arose in a loud arpeggio and signaled the arrival of the groom. While everyone else's head turned to see Lloyd Irving, Chocolat caught the moment before Zelos and Sheena split off; a private beat as he kissed her cheek and she smiled while lightly swatting him with her bouquet.

"It's so romantic…"

"—You think this is romantic? After all you've been through with Sir Irving?" Callon drilled Chocolat from her moment of whimsy.

"N-no, I was talking about the thing with the Chosen, still, but I guess he looks all right for himself," Chocolat covered. She resisted looking at Lloyd for very long. Lloyd had probably appreciated that, as when Callon continued to watch, he stumbled a bit.

"Unprofessional. Irving was never good at these sorts of events."

Lloyd was followed by Dirk, his adopted father. The dwarf tottered down the aisle and stood before one of the roped-off seats, but not without brandishing a handkerchief. A pair of young girls threw flowers from a woven basket rather violently upon the ground before dashing off to one side.

"Who are those girls, do you know?" Callon asked sidelong.

"Of course! They're Pietro and Sophia's little ones. From Hima, but they moved to Luin during the restoration."

Callon wrinkled his nose. "I'm not familiar."

"Oh, you  _have_  to know about the time when Raine rescued Pietro from his curse," Chocolat balked. When met with another confused expression from Callon, she silently applauded herself for her knowledge of Sylvaranti people. Originally, Callon was from Tethe'alla; although he masqueraded as a Sylvaranti for some time, there were clearly details missing from his experience of the Regeneration. Chocolat beamed. Maybe she'd write an article about the wedding after all.

It was then that the harp and cello extended their rubato and flourished with an ornate version of the Sylvaranti bridal song. At the end of the aisle, Colette was escorted by her grandmother and father. A lacy white veil covered her face, although it was clear she wore her blonde hair up in an elegant twist. Her ensemble looked quite expensive, being beaded with blue crystalline jewels that spilled in a pattern from her top to her toes. Her smile could have blackened out the sun as she took small steps under the long empire dress. Looked like Frank was getting as emotional as Dirk, too.

Behind Colette, the stately Raine Sage carried the ends of a train that extended half the length of the runner itself. No wonder Raine had been chosen to carry such a thing, Chocolat thought to herself, because it would have been lost on one of the younger, klutzier girls.

Even more shocking than the grandeur of Colette's dress was the moment when Dirk surrendered his handkerchief to Lloyd, who was holding back, presumably, tears of joy as his intended's veil was lifted by her father. Chocolat could have sworn she saw Zelos elbow Lloyd to remind him to step forward. Seles led the piece to a close, and the Governess-General of Palmacosta began the ceremony proper.

"Visitors from Tethe'alla, Sylvarant, the United World; relatives and family across continents; friends old and new, we invite you to bear witness to the marriage of  _Chosenne_  Nicolette Vincenza Brunel and Sir Lloyd Aurion Irving…"

* * *

The ceremony in Palmacosta Square had been disassembled and rearranged for the evening festivities. Many strings of light bulbs hanging overhead lent light to the Irvings' reception. But it wasn't difficult to see at that time of night; even the fountain had been set alight with floating candles. Palmacosta was finally ablaze in joyous celebration instead of hateful destruction.

Volunteers from the Tethe'alla Mizuho Information Network lined the perimeter of the square, even on the big-boat pier side. It was more of a precaution than an actual need, thankfully. Regal had kept busy by preparing the security team for bomb threats and terrorists, but about twenty minutes into the party Lloyd had to remind him to enjoy himself, for a change. So, Regal naturally appointed himself to the open bar.

Zelos watched over a glass of champagne as his sister cajoled with the harpist, Pacco Laurentin. It wasn't so far a cry from his vision from Verius over three years ago. Seles might not have been fully healed after all, but she had taken up a hobby that delighted her and found someone to relate to. Together with Pacco, she had already succeeded in creating a small school of music in Meltokio's middle district and was now vying for funding from the Palmacosta Academy to continue. Pacco taught the instruments, and she worked the theory classroom. Watching her grow with the music fascinated Zelos, who knew she'd never been out to see musical productions due to her house arrest as a child. How could her brain translate those dots on the page at the speed she was playing? It was nothing like Sebastian's failed urging for Zelos to learn the piano. You can't change a player-by-ear, he knew.

Although Seles claimed to have no feelings for Pacco, it was obvious from her posture that either something had changed or was about to change in that line. Poor Pacco; hopefully the new music school would erase his reputation as the graceless wallflower of Meltokio's High Street. Seles still lived there in the mansion. By some stroke of bribery, the King signed an amendment allowing half-elves to live in family homes belonging to the human parent. It wasn't the biggest step forward, but it was at least something and the most Zelos could ask for after his own beg for funding.

All Exspheres had been destroyed apart from two specific, necessary crystals that rested upon Richter's hands. That journey was over at last, and this wedding was a grand combined celebration of that fact. But there were many labs around the world without a subject to research. Zelos's first plea on that front was that the half-elf labs be funded to research new technologies mimicking but not using Exspheres; and his second plea was that a learning lab be built in Sylvarant on each site of former human ranches. Of course, Colette and Lloyd supported the need for better education, but neither was really focused on the cause, at least now. There was a wedding to be had.

Good thing he'd gotten his over with.

"I hope nobody's mad at the fact that Palmacosta kind of looks like it's on fire," a voice said beside him. Sheena; he hadn't even realized she'd come back to his side after having chased Pietro's daughters off the dance floor.

"Mmm. Yeah, but I think Clara herself suggested it. Maybe they'll make it a thing, like Carnivale," Zelos said. He held his champagne flute aloft in offering.

"Nah, I shouldn't drink. I've been chasing those kids around all night," Sheena sighed. "You really think this theme'll catch on as a trend?"

"Perhaps. I'm sure someone will write about it and everyone will want to have their weddings with gigantic blue crystals and fire on the water."

Sheena smirked, her curled bangs shifting slightly from the movement of her cheek. "Didn't catch on with the champagne cage…"

A memory of their own reception, where a performer wandered in a steel cage crinoline that held slots with full champagne glasses; initially, the party designer wanted a woman to wear the cage, but at Sheena's request, Zelos demanded it be a youngish boy, a particularly average one. What a sight it must have been. The beleaguered boy had only performed on the stage at Altamira and wasn't expecting that any of the royalty would reach out to touch him. Naturally, the guests exploited his ignorance. Of course, the wedded couple hadn't had time to enjoy the ridiculousness of it all until a photo of it wound up on the back page of the paper, which Sebastian had framed on a dartboard promptly upon their return to the Wilder Estate.

"That was the weirdest thing ever. Which planner decided that, again?"

"I don't know, but I want to shake their hand after it got the ladies-in-waiting to try and wear it under their dresses instead of over it," Sheena said. "Glad I don't have to worry about turning into one of them."

"You'd better not, my darling hunny-wife," Zelos cautioned. He wrapped his arm around her and didn't fail to notice the goosebumps creeping up to her collarbone. "You cold?"

"Eh, a little. When's the dancing gonna start?" She leaned into him with her head on his chest.

Zelos's jaw gaped. " _You_? Actually interested in dancing?"

The flush across Sheena's cheeks and ears sharply contrasted her gown. "A-ah, I mean, at least people would be moving around! And besides, we've been taking lessons. If I don't dance with you, some other girl will be tempted!" she ranted.

"It's okay to ask me to dance, y'know. I'd say yes even if I weren't legally obliged to!" Zelos joked. Sheena rolled her eyes.

"And it's okay for you to be romantic without breaking the moment," she muttered.

"Hmmmm? What was that?" Zelos suavely took her hand and kissed her upturned palm and wrist, looking up with puppy-wide eyes.

"Hmph. Fine," Sheena conceded, stealing his mouth away from her wrist for a momentary kiss. "All right, that's enough, that's enough! It's not  _our_  night."

Zelos raised his head suddenly. "Ah, speaking of such people!"

Colette had made her way through the crowd and was now chatting up a girl with brown hair and a simple yellow dress.

"Hey, I remember her. Chocolat from Marble's, right? Should we go be social?" Sheena asked, still by Zelos's side.

"Well, I  _suppose_  I could try," Zelos replied sarcastically. This party wasn't full of the high-court members of Tethe'allan society. There were familiar faces from the Regeneration journey but also many laymen of Palmacosta and friends that Colette and Lloyd had known independently. Completely out of his element, Zelos had no choice but to follow Sheena's suggestion.

While Chocolat seemed familiar, Zelos was embarrassed to think that he didn't entirely recognize her. Perhaps her hair had changed? It was rare that he forgot a woman, but maybe since he'd met this one so long after he'd given up trying to be Sylvarant's darling, it was justified. Or not. What did it matter? He was no longer tied to the Church of Martel's pageantry or the King's favors. Maybe he'd just be a regular guy supporting his best friends tonight.

Sheena led Zelos along the perimeter of the crowd and arrived at Chocolat just after Colette had been swept away by Lloyd.

"O-oh! Can I help you, Chosen One? Sheena? I'm afraid I've scared away the, uh, Irvings," the girl said.

"No problem. We just thought we'd say hello," Zelos replied. After all, she'd waved at them during the ceremony. Made him feel like a celebrity again.

"Cool! I'm, um, sorry that I haven't sent a letter in a while."

A letter? What did that mean? Oh, maybe she'd sent one to Sheena. Must have been a long time ago, maybe during the Luin restoration. And he thought he'd filled in all the little gaps of Sheena's past. At least this was an agreeable surprise. He reminded himself not to act shocked when Sheena showed her kind side to random citizens. Not that her nature contradicted it; there were just so many times she liked to appear tough and she was just starting to accept being vulnerable and kind. She was growing into the Emissary she was meant to be.

"Nah, it was my fault for not replying. What have you been up to these days?" Sheena prompted.

Chocolat was beside herself trying to figure out how to gesticulate with her champagne glass. Poor thing; entirely not used to the Wilder charm. (Okay, Wilder and Fujibayashi-Wilder charm. Zelos would never get used to that hyphen.) "I, um, Colette invited me here, otherwise I might be at my job editing for the  _Beacon_. It's the local paper. Long hours, you know…"

"Oh! The newspaper. Zelos's butler collects them as a hobby. Isn't that right?"

Zelos thought immediately of Sebastian's gift of a dartboard and suppressed a laugh. "I sure hope you never intend to write for that other paper," he said.

"You mean  _The New World Times_? I tried to apply, but they said they already had someone working the field. Actually, I'm embarrassed," Chocolat continued nervously, "because the guy they usually get for that job is here right now and he's very intimidating."

Zelos furrowed his brow. Didn't Colette and Lloyd say there weren't to be any journalists? Aside from Chocolat, but it was clear that she wasn't here for her job. "I hate to ask, but could you maybe point him out to me?"

Just as Chocolat scanned the crowd, the presence of the very journalist in question made itself known. Colette, just a little distance away, was bewildered by a bright flash of light.

Of  _course_  Friedrich Callon had brought his camera and flash to take surprise pictures like some lowly paparazzo.

"O-oh, my!" Colette cried. She tried to make a getaway, but ever predictably caught her heel in her dress and pitched forward. Lloyd ran to her side to help her up. Zelos and Sheena were quick to rush in defensively.

"Hey! You're not our photographer. Who let you in with that camera?! Where's Regal?" Lloyd exclaimed.

Colette shakily stood up. "It's okay, Lloyd, I just didn't know it was going to flash," she said.

"How could you not know? Friedrich Callon of  _The New World Times_ ," the offending photographer replied, and extended a limp hand to the bride.

"Freddy!" a voice called. Callon's eyes visibly widened as he watched the Chosen saunter over to him. "Listen, I thought you weren't going to be here."

Callon straightened up, pudge of a stomach protruding from its suit jacket confines. "Pardon me, former Chosen of Tethe'alla, but I believe this is out of your realm of jurisdiction. I was hired for this job and I damn well will carry it out," he asserted.

"Hired by whom?"

"Not that you'd be aware these days."

Zelos sneered. "I don't like your tone around my friends, pal."

"I don't like it, either," Sheena blurted. She looked up to Zelos. "In fact, I think we might have to call for backup. OROCHI!"

In a puff of smoke, the very ninja himself appeared beside Friedrich Callon with two aides at the ready.

"You called, Emissary?" Orochi asked. He bowed humbly toward Sheena, then separately toward Lloyd and Colette. He simply nodded at Zelos; a rivalry that had, unfortunately, endured despite the fact that Orochi had technically earned the title of Chief of Mizuho. Sheena deferred the decision to Zelos, whom she knew to have more contempt for that writer.

"Kindly escort this man to the nearest boat and send him back to his kennel," Zelos ordered. "Right, Bud? … And Mrs. Bud?"

Colette smiled at her new title. "Yes, please, Orochi! We'd appreciate it."

Orochi waved his hand, signaling for the other ninjas to seize Callon's arms.

"What?! I'll have you know that I am here completely legally and as the—the Governess of Palmacosta herself ordered!" Callon shouted. If bystanders hadn't been aware of the situation from Orochi's entrance, they had certainly turned their heads toward the commotion now.

"There's no way Clara would have let you in if she'd known," Lloyd said.

"Then, her advisor Neil!"

Colette shook her head. "Neil has been out of town for weeks."

Cornered, Callon stuttered. "Wh… What will the paper write about? Wouldn't you want to spread the joy of your union?"

"We can do that enough on our own!"

"Actually," Zelos interrupted. "Maybe he's right, Lloyd. You do want to get the story out for the people of the world, y'know,  _you_  restored. But I think we know someone else who can do it." He glanced over to Chocolat. "Someone who actually might know what she's talking about."

"I'd have to agree with you on that one. Someone who's quite well-spoken," Sheena added. She turned to Orochi. "Thanks for your help."

"It is my honor. We shall be off!" Orochi declared. He, the ninjas, and Callon disappeared in another flash of smoke.

Lloyd extended his hand to Colette and the two walked to Chocolat. "Well, whaddaya say? Do you want to be the exclusive writer for our wedding?"

Chocolat blushed and stumbled for words. "I would be so honored! But I'm afraid I don't have a notepad or a camera…"

"No worries. I know you'll get the big picture," Lloyd assured. He gave a winning smile.

Chocolat quickly curtseyed. "Thank you, thank you so much, all of you! A-and congratulations!"

Nearby, a pair of hands began to clap delightedly, and it was joined by a few others at first, escalating to an uproarious din. Knives clacked against champagne glasses. Even Seles, across the square, showed some interest (which, Zelos noted, almost never happened). Colette stood on her tiptoes for a chaste kiss with Lloyd to appease the crowd.

As if on cue, the nighttime band began to play a lively tune. Lloyd and Colette stepped on the paneled dancing floor and began to sway back and forth in their first dance.

Sheena ribbed Zelos as they watched.

"Hm? Yes, my darlingest?" he hummed.

"Do you… urgh…" Sheena started.

Zelos raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're gonna have to be clearer."

She frowned. "Just. Can you dance with me when they open the floor?" she asked quietly.

"Ohhhh, you wanna daaaance?" Zelos restated more loudly. Sheena shushed him. "I dunno, I was thinking about taking Miss Chocolat over here out for a spin…"

Chocolat was quick to throw up her hands in protest. "No, no! It's okay! I don't dance anyway."

"All right, I  _guess_  I could dance with you…"

"You had better, mister!" Sheena threatened, but with a smile.

For now, it was enough to watch the newlyweds shine brighter than the starlight. Palmacosta at peace and all chaos quelled for a singular evening—no stuffy headlines.

(At least until Colette tripped right into the cake.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final Notes
> 
> Some of you may have noticed peculiar, non-sequitur chapter titles. They are lyrics borrowed straight from my four-year tailored, excruciatingly-planned, alternative-rock slanted excruXiation playlist. And now YOU can own the... blueprint for it! (Yeah, I'm way too lazy to upload tracks for you all.)
> 
> The EXCRUxIATION SOUNDTRACK is as follows, chapter-by-chapter:  
> 1) "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger  
> 2) "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls  
> 3) "Drive" by Incubus  
> 4) "The Man Who Sold the World" originally by David Bowie as performed by Nirvana  
> 5) "Sweetness" by Jimmy Eat World  
> 6) "Little Black Backpack" by Stroke 9  
> 7) "Pictures" by The Cure  
> 8) "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers  
> 9) "Bound for the Floor" by Local H  
> 10) "Running Away" by Hoobastank  
> 11) "Stay Useless" by Cloud Nothings  
> 12) "The House That Heaven Built" by Japandroids  
> e) "Chase This Light" by Jimmy Eat World
> 
> Bonus Track (preview for next fic): "Fixin'" by Walk the Moon
> 
> I hope some of you can appreciate or relate to the playlist. It's something I haven't shared with anyone in the same creative context as this fanfic. This is the least I can offer to my readers, whom I appreciate beyond words.
> 
> Thank you all for joining me on this journey. It was quite a long time, wasn't it, writing this? We went pretty much all over the world of Symphonia, explored more than just Zelos's character, and decided a lot of world canon together. Maybe you should stick around for another journey with me, huh?
> 
> Well? Do you want to? Do you want to go on "the" trip with me? I should warn you, it's a bit of a wild ride. A Rodeo Ride, one might say...
> 
> Until then, all my love and appreciation for the fandom. Find me on tumblr or PM me and bother me until I write new material!
> 
> Fondly and sincerely yours,
> 
> trickssi


End file.
